The owners of 12.3 acres that used to be part of an I-94 interchange have petitioned for the third time to have the property annexed into the city of Hudson.
DaMe Properties partners Dan Bauer and Jim Meffert may get their wish this time around if the city Plan Commission’s reaction to their latest proposal is any indication.
Commissioners Tim Caruso, Bob Mailloux and Bob Bieraugel all made comments indicating at least some level of support for the plan when architect Matt Frisbie and traffic engineer Jim Benshoof presented it to the commission May 25.
Caruso said he likes bringing commercial property into the city because it doesn’t contribute much to the local tax burden and adds a great deal to the tax base. Impact fees paid by the developers would cover the expense of the needed infrastructure, he said.
Caruso also contended that it would be better for the city to annex the property and gain control over how it is developed than to leave it in the town of Hudson and have less to say about how it is used.
“I think this is a good thing,” Caruso said of DaMe’s petition for annexation.
Mailloux also voiced the opinion that commercial development is good for the city.
Bieraugel said he thought the proposed use is appropriate for the property, but traffic and storm water drainage issues would need to be addressed.
Frisbie presented commissioners with a possible plat of the 12.3 acres and 20 adjacent acres already in the city boundaries showing six or seven development lots. He said a variety of businesses are interested in building in the development, including furniture stores, hotels and movie theaters.
Mayor Jack Breault, chairman of the Plan Commission, said it made sense to allow the DaMe owners to develop the 32.3 acres as a whole. He, too, appeared to be generally supportive of the proposed annexation.
Traffic engineer Jim Benshoof predicted 370 vehicle trips to the proposed development each day. He said he didn’t anticipate traffic lights being needed at the intersection of Stageline Road, County N, Old Hwy. 35 and the entrance to the development.
Breault questioned that, saying developers didn’t predict the need for traffic lights at Carmichael Road and Vine Street (County UU) either.
Alderperson Carah Koch was the lone Plan Commission member to express reservations about the proposed development.
She noted that nearby homeowners had objected to the two previous development plans –- one for a Wisconsin Dells-style water resort and the other for a 16-lot commercial district.
Koch indicated that she wants to hear feedback from neighbors on the latest petition and was skeptical of the traffic engineer’s prediction that most of the traffic to the development would come from I-94 Exit 4 to the east.
She said it isn’t the city’s responsibility to see that Bauer and Meffert, whose DaMe Properties company owns the land, profits from its investment. DaMe Properties paid $756,000 for the abandoned freeway ramp when the Wisconsin Department of Transportation put it up for auction in 2003.
The state no longer needed the land because Hwy. 35 was moved about a quarter-mile to the west when it was expanded to four lanes.
The Plan Commission didn’t take any action on the DaMe petition. The indication was that the partners were trying to judge the commission’s level of support for the new plan before proceeding.
Frisbie said he was there to hear what concerns the city might have about the proposal.
Community Development Director Dennis Darnold said the city staff would be studying the impact the development would have on traffic and the city’s sewage treatment plant |
