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Council refers Leo Living Portage Road rezoning and rejects preliminary plat; zoning put on file without prejudice
Summary
Council action on two Portage Road items left the rezoning request on file without prejudice and rejected the preliminary plat; developers and staff said additional stormwater and site design work is expected before any resubmission.
(Note: This article covers two related agenda items: Legistar 86,993, a zoning change request, and Legistar 86,736, a preliminary plat/Leo Living proposal at 6303 Portage Road and 4821 Hepker Road.)
A housing proposal for parcels west of Portage Road drew developer presentations and staff review before the Common Council. Joanne Rubio and Brian Randall spoke on behalf of the project and described connectivity, street orientation and enhanced on-site green infrastructure in their submitted materials. Rubio emphasized that the development would connect private and public rights-of-way, provide street trees, and orient buildings to the road. Randall, a land-use attorney for Advenir Azura, said the site is "an interesting area" and described planned on-site stormwater management and pocket parks.
Why it matters: The proposal would change zoning from temporary agricultural to a planned residential district and advance a preliminary plat that, if approved, would enable phased housing construction. The applicants emphasized missing-middle and workforce housing opportunities near employment centers and roads.
Public comment in the record included technical clarifications about an intermittent stream (Stark Weather Creek) and the project's relationship to the Pumpkin Hollow neighborhood development plan; the applicants said DNR/listed sources do not classify the local creek as a regulatory environmental corridor. Staff reports and registrant testimony noted that the project site sits near mapped natural features and that final site design would address stormwater and natural-feature enhancements.
Council action: The council voted to place the zoning request (Legistar 86,993) on file without prejudice and to reject the preliminary plat (Legistar 86,736). No detailed vote tally for the zoning roll-call was recorded on-screen in the transcript excerpt beyond the mayor's announcement that the items were handled as recommended.
Ending: The plan commission and applicants will have the opportunity to revise materials and return if they choose; staff said more detailed design work and permitting (including stormwater management) would be needed for a future submittal.
