Council advances Ovation rezoning after debate over sewage "excess flow" holding basin

Council members voted unanimously to move the Ovation rezoning and preliminary development plan to second reading after a multi-hour public hearing in which neighbors raised concerns about an "excess flow" holding basin the city plans to site within the project footprint.

The Ovation proposal covers the southeast quadrant of U.S. 291 and SE M-150 Highway and would rezone the northern portion of an 80-acre parcel so the developer can build townhomes, a future mixed-use parcel and single-family housing to the south. The planning commission unanimously recommended approval after the developer revised the plan to add parking pods, more amenity space and other changes recommended by neighbors and planners.

Why it matters: The project changes zoning along a major corridor, adds several hundred housing units in stages and includes a sanitary-system improvement that city staff say is needed to prevent manhole overflows in the broader watershed. The holding basin — designed to temporarily store storm-driven sewage inflows — prompted the strongest public concern at the hearing.

The developer’s presentation and staff analysis

Matt Slish, representing Engineering Solutions and the Ward development team, said the northern 40 acres are the focus of the rezoning and preliminary development plan. He described a plan that reduces commercial zoning from about 30 acres to roughly 9 acres of planned-mix (PMIX) land, converts an RP-3 belt and other land into RP-4 for townhomes, and keeps the southern 40 acres under existing R-1 single-family zoning to be developed by right later. Slish told council the proposed RP-4 area would yield far fewer units than zoning would allow: "the allowed by zoning right would be about 336 units... what we're proposing is a 92 units," and that the overall proposed density would be about 4.5 units per acre, which he said is comparable to nearby developments.

City staff and planning changes

Hector Soto, senior planner, said the application before council applies to the northern 40 acres and that the applicant reduced the townhome count, added 54 off-street parking spaces in three distributed "pods," and cut the number of multi-unit buildings so the plan now shows 48 townhome buildings (48 buildings × 4 units = 192 units across the phased site footprint referenced by staff). Soto told council the revisions reduced total dwelling units from earlier iterations and improved off-street parking and common-area distribution.

Sanitary sewer holding basin explained

Jeff Thorne, deputy director of Water Utilities, answered repeated resident questions about the basin. He said the basin is designed as a "gravity in, gravity out" excess-flow holding basin that will store storm-related inflow and infiltration surges so the downstream 15-inch pipe under Lake Winnebago does not cause backups in Saddle Brook. "It is gonna be holding a dilute sewage," Thorne said. He described alternatives such as rerouting or pump stations as much more costly and operationally complex, and added, "Generally speaking in most of our locations that isn't the case" when asked whether such basins typically smell; he said the likelihood of odor is "minimal" and the basin would not remain full except during rain events.

Residents' concerns and developer responses

Several residents said the basin’s proximity to existing backyards and private pools raised worries about odor, mosquitoes and property values. Gary Hack, a nearby resident, told council he remains "very concerned about this, whether it's smells, leaks, mosquitoes, overfill, health concerns," and said he believes the basin could reduce nearby property values. Slish and Thorne said the city and developer have modified the site plan to increase perimeter buffers, maintain existing tree mass where possible, fence the basin, and add landscaping. Slish said the developer agreed to provide a landscaped buffer and to relocate amenity elements to reduce direct adjacency to affected neighbors.

Process and next steps

Planning staff noted the application includes four standard conditions of approval and that the planning commission had unanimously recommended the revised plan. Council member Mia Pryor read and moved to advance Bill 25-032 — the ordinance approving rezoning to RP-4 and PMIX and the preliminary/conceptual development plans for approximately 37.24 acres at 325 SE M-150 Highway — and Council member Hodges seconded. The motion was advanced to second reading unanimously.

What will return to council

If second reading continues to advance, the PMIX portion would return later with a site-specific preliminary development plan once the developer and the city better define the mixed-use parcel; staff and the developer said the PMIX area is being left conceptual now so a later application can consider surrounding changes and market demands. The excess-flow holding basin, staff said, is intended as a system-level sanitary improvement and the city intends to construct it to serve the broader watershed; staff said the developer offered to donate the land on which the basin would sit.

Ending

Council advanced the rezoning and preliminary plan to a second reading; the project will return for further approvals and for any PMIX-specific entitlement once the developer refines that parcel. The city’s water-utilities team will continue to provide technical details about the holding basin to residents and produce design/construction timelines as the project proceeds.