Plan Commission approves land-use changes and site plan for new West Bend Fire Station at 2151 West Washington St.

The West Bend Plan Commission on Monday approved a series of land-use and development actions to allow construction of a new Fire Station No. 1 at 2151 West Washington Street.

The commission unanimously approved Comprehensive Plan Amendment No. 38 to change roughly 12.9 acres on the site from commercial and multifamily use to government/institutional use; a zoning map amendment to rezone the property from B-4 General Business, RM-3 multifamily residential and Nonshoreland Wetland District to I-1 Institutional and Public Service and Nonshoreland Wetland District; a one‑lot certified survey map (CSM) to combine parcels for the project; and the site plan for the new fire station.

The approvals follow presentations from city planning staff and the project architect, Trevor Frank of Short Elliott Hendrickson, who walked the commission through a 90%-complete design and construction schedule. Frank said the station’s base footprint is roughly 39,797 square feet with additional mezzanine spaces and a four‑story training tower. The plans also include a roughly 1,600‑square‑foot training tower structure, a future cold‑storage building of about 3,400 square feet, three stormwater basins, separate parking for apparatus, staff and visitors, and landscaping and security measures around the site.

"We are at 90% with the drawings and estimates," Trevor Frank said, describing the schedule. "Site acquisition and building demolition will take place shortly, and we're targeting a groundbreaking right after Labor Day." Frank noted demolition will include removal of an existing building and underground fuel tanks and that the site will use structural concrete where heavy apparatus operate and heavy‑duty asphalt elsewhere.

City staff told the commission the comprehensive plan amendment and zoning change were requested because the city is acquiring the property for fire‑department use and that the institutional designation better fits the department’s operations. Staff also provided a map update adding newly identified nonshoreland wetland areas discovered during due diligence.

During public comment, several nearby property owners asked about stormwater and preservation of green space. Pam Schumacher of Schumacher Landscaping said the site abuts the fire station and asked whether runoff would affect her property to the east. Max (city staff, engineering) responded that the city’s stormwater ordinance limits post‑development volumes and discharge rates so that the amount of water leaving the property to the east would not exceed current flows and that a filter basin on the east side is planned to provide quantity and quality control.

Linda Olsen, a resident at 2100 Miller Street, asked whether the southern green space would be preserved. City staff said the proposed site places most facilities on the north portion of the parcel and that the southern area would largely remain vegetated; a future back driveway was discussed but would be limited to vehicle access and would not remove the majority of vegetation.

Design materials described to the commission include clay masonry, natural stone accents and precast concrete banding; roof materials include EPDM on flat areas and standing‑seam metal on the entry tower. Landscaping will emphasize foundation plantings, overstory trees for shade, and low shrubs to support site security and maintenance by station personnel. Security features discussed include credentialed access to firefighter areas, exterior cameras at ingress points, bollards and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles in the landscaping.

The commission’s approvals were by voice vote; motions carried without roll‑call tallies recorded in the meeting minutes. Staff recommended and the commission approved the CSM with a condition that minor technical corrections be made before recording. The city will proceed to ePlan review and final life‑safety review; staff said 100% construction documents and bid packages will be ready to dovetail with site civil work so building foundations can follow site preparation.

Next steps listed in the presentation include completion of the 100% construction documents, solicitation of bids, site demolition and utility work, and construction; staff indicated the project is tracking toward a target groundbreaking in early September.

The project was presented to the commission as a coordinated set of actions (plan amendment, zoning, CSM and site plan); the commission approved each action in turn. No formal amendments to the motions were recorded at the meeting.

Tally details for each motion were not recorded beyond the chair’s voice vote announcement that the motions carried.