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Plan Commission recommends rezoning for Hilltop Grove PRD after developers reduce small lots
Summary
The Menomonee Falls Plan Commission voted 4-1 to recommend the Village Board approve rezoning of parcels on Mill Road to a Planned Residential Development (PRD) and Shoreland Wetland overlay for the Hilltop Grove project after the applicant reduced unit count and increased lot sizes.
The Menomonee Falls Plan Commission voted 4-1 on Sept. 9 to recommend that the Village Board approve an ordinance rezoning several parcels on Mill Road from A-1 Agricultural to Planned Residential Development (PRD) and Shoreland Wetland to create the Hilltop Grove planned residential development.
Planner Amy Bennett told the commission the wetlands on the site were field-delineated and the applicant submitted a revised PRD layout; the applicant deferred the preliminary plat to an October meeting. "The existing zoning on the site is A-1 agriculture, and the land use is low density residential and environmental corridor," Bennett said during the presentation.
The applicant team, led by Ben Lang of Verdi & Holmes and Brian Munson of Van Du Wall & Associates, said they had responded to prior feedback by reducing unit count and enlarging lots. Munson said the plan now has a median lot size “above 12,000 square feet” and that the number of lots under 10,000 square feet had been reduced from 44 to 6. He said five of those six smaller lots would have rear exposures next to open space.
Munson said the applicant had made multiple adjustments "block by block, lot by lot" to increase lot sizes and rebalance the layout. Lang and Munson presented market data showing strong demand for new housing in the village and projected average sales prices for the development in the mid-$600,000 range, with some smaller homes in the mid-$550,000s and larger lots carrying higher prices.
Commissioners asked about specific lot sizes in the revised plan and engineering issues raised at earlier hearings. The applicant said they had submitted preliminary designs for a bypass/turning lane on Mill Road to the village engineering department but had not received final engineering comments; the applicant said the village engineer indicated they would work toward a reasonable solution. The applicants added an east–west connection to the adjacent Walthworth property and adjusted a cul-de-sac to meet engineering requirements.
Commissioners also discussed the sequencing of the PRD ordinance versus the preliminary plat. Bennett said the PRD ordinance and its approved general development plan would be used to review the later preliminary plat and that any substantial variance would require a PRD amendment and a return to the commission.
The commission’s formal motion recommended that the Village Board approve an ordinance rezoning the subject parcels to the Planned Residential Development district and Shoreland Wetland, and to create the Hilltop Grove PRD. The record and the draft PRD ordinance submitted with the application describe the project density and conditions; the staff package referenced 60 conditions of approval. A public hearing on the ordinance was scheduled by commissioners for the Oct. 20, 2025 Village Board meeting.
The commission recorded a 4–1 favorable recommendation. The minutes show the action as a recommendation to the Village Board; final zoning authority rests with the Village Board.
Planning staff said the preliminary plat will be brought back to the Plan Commission in October for consistency review with the PRD ordinance and general development plan.
