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Planning commission recommends annexations, rezones and a roadway discontinuance for proposed Vantage data center campus
Summary
The Port Washington Planning Commission recommended that the common council approve a series of annexations and permanent rezonings to the I‑3 Technology Campus District for multiple parcels tied to the proposed Vantage data center campus, and recommended discontinuing the southern portion of Highland Drive to allow future campus layout work.
The Port Washington Planning Commission on July 17 recommended that the common council approve multiple annexation petitions and permanent rezonings to establish the I‑3 Technology Campus District for tracts tied to the proposed Vantage data center campus. Over several agenda items the commission considered annexation and rezoning petitions that together encompass roughly 756.25 acres (presented as multiple packages while the applicant closes on properties).
City land-use adviser Sam Schultz and planner Bob Harris briefed the commission. Schultz said the annexations are being submitted in parcels as the applicant closes on property and that the parcels in the packet are generally centered on the site previously identified for the Vantage campus. For several of the petitions the Department of Administration (DOA) had issued a public-interest determination; for one parcel the DOA determination was pending, and staff conditioned the commission’s recommendation on receiving that letter.
The commission recommended approval of multiple annexations and permanent rezones to I‑3 for the areas described in the packet: a roughly 204‑acre package (south of Lake Drive), a 457‑acre package (north of Lake Drive, south of Dixie Road), a 67.85‑acre package at the southwest intersection of Lake Drive and County Highway LL, and a roughly 24.4‑acre package near 4237 Highland Drive. Staff noted the 204‑acre package corresponds with a sanitary‑sewer amendment the council approved in June that enables sewer service to lands south of Lake Drive; staff said other parcels will be included in a subsequent sanitary‑sewer amendment application.
Commissioners repeatedly heard that the filings are part of a multi‑stage process that will require future engineering, sanitary‑sewer and utility amendments, and additional municipal approvals. Several motions and recommendations were recorded as “motion carries”; where the DOA public‑interest letter remained pending staff recommended approval be conditioned on receipt of that letter for the specific parcels that lacked DOA determinations at the time of the hearing.
The commission also recommended that the common council approve a petition to discontinue a portion of Highland Drive (south portion) that currently bisects part of the campus area. Staff explained the applicant has provided easement language guaranteeing continued access for existing occupants (including care facilities on the southern end) and that emergency-vehicle access would be retained while the roadway’s southern portion is converted to private maintenance and use. The commission voted to recommend discontinuance to the council.
Next steps: the commission’s recommendations will go to the common council for final actions on annexation, rezoning and the road discontinuance. Staff and the applicant expect further annexation petitions as the applicant closes additional parcels, and sanitary‑sewer amendments and engineering submissions will follow.
