Delafield Plan Commission rejects rezoning request for 433 Genesee Street

The Delafield Plan Commission on June 25 voted to deny an applicant's request to rezone 433 Genesee Street from CBD 2 (Central Business District 2) to CBD 1, a change the applicant and supporters said would allow a two‑story mixed‑use building design more compatible with adjacent properties.

The request matters because CBD 1 carries different setback, height and parking rules than CBD 2; supporters argued the parcel was historically part of a larger CBD 3 campus and that CBD 2 left the narrow lot “nonconforming.” The commission’s discussion centered on whether making an exception for one lot would create precedent to rezone the whole block and on the city’s ability to absorb new parking demand downtown.

Amy Barrows, the city planner, reviewed the site’s background and told the commission that earlier applicants had pursued text amendments instead of rezoning for similar flexibility and that the city had specifically preserved parking controls when the lot was assigned CBD 2 at the time it was separated from the former Hendricks ownership. Barrows said the CBD 3 campus to the north and the CBD 2 parcels to the south reflected intentional distinctions in the zoning map and that “parking has always been the difference” between the two districts.

Applicant Aaron Warner, who purchased the parcel and presented the application, said the request was driven by parking constraints and site geometry rather than height. “It’s never been really about the height requirements,” Warner told the commission, adding that the narrow 53‑foot lot and adjacent municipal stalls make on‑site parking impractical. Warner estimated, based on earlier city discussions, that in‑lieu parking costs and related assumptions could make a modest building financially infeasible; during discussion he cited a rough per‑space estimate of about $5,000 used previously and applied that figure in a hypothetical calculation offered for context.

A member of the public, Jackie Valde Milstead, spoke in favor of the rezoning and said the parcel “has never conformed to the CBD 2 designation” after the larger campus was subdivided, urging the commission to permit the property to “support the city” by enabling a compact development.

Several commissioners and staff pressed on parking and precedent. Commissioners noted that prior approvals and a downtown parking study had counted nearby public and private stalls and that altering the zoning for one parcel could prompt adjacent property owners to ask for similar changes, potentially increasing parking demand the city might not be able to meet. After discussion, a motion to deny the rezoning carried; the commission instructed that the matter will go to Common Council with the commission’s recommendation against rezoning.

The denial does not approve or deny any specific building plan; it only rejects the requested map change from CBD 2 to CBD 1. Commissioners emphasized that a developer could still seek other design solutions within the existing CBD 2 rules, or pursue parking mitigation options spelled out in the zoning code.

The applicant may pursue administrative alternatives or bring a revised application to the city and the Plan Commission in the future.