CITY OF PEWAUKEE — Last Thursday, the City of Pewaukee Plan Commission made the recommendation to the Common Council to approve agenda items concerning a proposal from Uzelac Industries, Inc. The commercial dryer company has proposed the construction of a 39,000-square-foot industrial building at the northwest corner of Lindsay Road and Wilhar Road.
For this to happen, the city would need to approve the rezoning of the property from residential to limited industrial, a certified survey map to combine three existing parcels of land into one, and an amendment to the city’s comprehensive master plan for land use and transportation.
At the Plan Commission meeting a month prior, homeowners across the road from where the development’s driveway was proposed to be located voiced concerns for their families’ safety. Since then, a petition from residents of the Victoria Station subdivision has come in, as well as a letter from another couple, with similar concerns about safety, light and noise pollution, and traffic.
A Uzelac representative said Uzelac is intending to relocate from Greendale to the City of Pewaukee, and addressed a few of the concerns about the impact the facility would have on residents. She said that trucks entering the facility would be similar to Amazon deliveries and would only occur up to six times per week. Another representative said outbound semi-trucks would occur approximately once a month, and that the facility only operates during typical work hours Monday through Friday. Additionally, since the last Plan Commission meeting, Uzelac revised their driveway plan, moving it further away from the concerned residents’ driveway.
Residents, however, did still have concerns about the zoning itself. One resident, Jonathan Befus, who lives across the road from the proposed site, shared his frustration with the commission. When he purchased his home, he said the surrounding areas were zoned for residential and there were trucking restrictions on the road.
“We have to make sure that we protect the neighborhood the best that we can,” said Mayor Steve Bierce. He had concerns about the landscaping plans, but said he didn’t have any concerns about the building itself or traffic.
“Something is going to go in this property. As you are well aware, Pewaukee is a great place to live, and to work, and to be in. That’s probably why you moved here,” he said. “Where you guys live, I remember when it was a farm field, and something went in there generating traffic.”
At the previous commission meeting, it was suggested that the Uzelac driveway be moved to the other side of the plot, at Wilhar Road. Unfortunately, the quality of the road is so deteriorated that it would need to be completely redone to support any increase in traffic, much less trucking traffic. The cost to replace the road would be prohibitive to Uzelac. As it only leads to one residential property, the cost assessed to both Uzelac and that residential property would be high.
A motion was made by Alderwoman Colleen Brown to recommend to the city Common Council to rezone the land, amend the comprehensive plan, and approve the certified survey map. She also recommending adding landscaping to the site plan. Another commission member added a request to discuss vacating Wilhar Road. The motion passed with one commission member, Sean Sullivan, voting nay.
A formal public hearing for the comprehensive land use and transportation plan amendment will be held at the next Common Council meeting, scheduled for Aug. 5 at 6:30 p.m.