MEQUON — Some 750 acres in size, the East Growth Corridor in Mequon is a nearly blank slate for development.
Bordered by Interstate 43 to the east, Oriole Lane and Ulao Creek to the west, Highland Road to the south, and Pioneer Road to the north, the area has been the subject of years of careful planning, focus groups and market analysis.
And now that work has led to something more tangible, as Mequon planners revealed a draft document that provides an outline of those areas in the corridor targeted for subdivisions, office development, senior housing and a potential greenway.
“Overall, the data suggests the city has a range of options to be considered,” according to a July 14 memo to the Mequon Common Council. “There are multiple land uses that are viable after considering public preferences, market strength, potential value and the ability to meet market demand.”
To be sure, the document is just a proposed guide at this point, and full development of the corridor would happen over decades.
The challenges in the plan are the cost of extending utilities to the developments and the impact that traffic will have. Mequon Mayor John Wirth told members of the council he did not believe the development would require expanding Port Washington Road to four lanes.
The commercial anchors of the corridor are the intersections of Port Washington and Highland roads and Port Washington and Pioneer roads.
A new zoning category, neighborhood commercial, would allow for limited commercial development at both of the “gateway intersections.” Specifically, it calls for low-intensity businesses, such as research and development and small business operations — land uses that are distinct from what is in the existing corridor on Port Washington Road south of Highland, said Director of Community Development Kim Tollefson.
But already the city is facing a challenge with one of the gateway intersections with a proposal by Ascension to build a 30,000-square-foot clinic on the northwest corner of Port Washington and Highland roads. That is 10,000 square feet larger than the current new office zoning districts the city calls for.
The planning commission on July 27 recommended approval of the clinic, but it still faces hurdles with two reviews by the common council, which will have the final say.
The common council will discuss the proposal at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. today, but will not take it up for action until its October meeting.
Much of the land between the gateway intersections is slated for single family subdivisions: Two parcels east of Port Washington Road are being eyed for a new mixed-use zoning district that allows for single family homes as an option. But it could also include continuum of care facilities like Newcastle Place, specialty trade contractors, research and development offices, and other low-intensity uses.
The new zoning district is a result of conversation with residential developer focus groups, Tollefson said.
“The suggestion from the committee is, if the market demands and would have an interest in residential development on the east side … we’d like to provide for that flexibility in the marketplace,” she said.
To the west of Port Washington Road, single family subdivisions are proposed for the land behind the proposed Ascension clinic and on a large parcel north of Bonniwell Road.
Between Oriole Lane and the wetlands that are west of the hospital, more subdivisions could be built. Low-density senior housing is slated for north of the Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital.
A sizable portion, 250 acres, are wetlands and will remain undeveloped.
South of Pioneer Road, there is more land set aside for the new mixed-use district.
The planning team is also recommending a greenway along Ulao Creek and I-43 that would consist of an open space link with bike and pedestrian trails as well as wetland and habitat protection.
“The greenway would allow users to maneuver through the neighborhood from the Oriole Lane School area to Pioneer Road and create a looped system, including CUW and Newcastle,” according to the memo to the common council.
That had strong support among planning team members and it was well received by aldermen.
“I really like the idea of, if we can work it in some way, of having this greenway,” Alderman Mark Gierl said at the July common council meeting. “Maybe even for walking dogs or riding mountain bikes.
“I think it’s extremely well thought out,” he said about the East Growth Plan overall.
Alderman Andrew Nerbun also applauded the idea and suggested the city commit to it early on.
“I think the greenway makes a lot of sense and I don’t know whether the right answer is to do it all right away or at least conceptualize roughly where we’d want it to go so that, as parcels are developed, it’s kind of predetermined where we’d like it to run,” Nerbun said. “Either way, as long as we’re clear about our intent and where roughly we’d like it to go and make sure we actually achieve it over the course of this all being built out over the next couple of decades.”
Public utility mains are scarce in the East Growth area, and could lead to some large big costs for the city or developers. The proposal suggests that: Public water sources be expanded to Pioneer Road at an estimated cost of between $1.3 million and $3.1 million. Sewer mains be expanded to just north of the hospital. The city’s Department of Public Works estimated the associated costs for the expansion to serve the entire corridors $22 million, though whether there is a need to build a lift station to expand past the hospital will impact that cost.
Interstate on- and off-ramps are being planned for Highland Road, though it will have little impact on the corridor plans, Tollefson said. She said it is unlikely the interchange will require any additional private land. Tollefson added that residents and consumers will not, however, see the typical land uses that they do at other freeway off-ramps, namely gas stations or fast food restaurants.
Wirth told the council that there is also much more nuanced work to be done.
“There are other portions of this besides zoning that we are addressing, like public amenities and park benches, street posts, all those will be addressed, as well as architectural aesthetics standards,” Wirth said.
He added that it is important that the East Growth Corridor not take away from the existing 3 miles of commercial development south on Port Washington Road.
The city’s planning commission policy subcommittee will continue to work on the details of the corridor plan.
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