West Bend Plan Commission recommends creation of Tax Increment District No. 18

The City of West Bend Plan Commission voted to recommend a resolution establishing Tax Increment District No. 18 and approving the district’s project plan after a public hearing and staff presentation Wednesday.

City planning staff described TID No. 18 as a 164-acre, mixed-use district generally south of Roscoe Road between Main Street on the west and River Road on the east. The project plan anticipates industrial parcels on the district’s east side and a residential area on the west, including housing built under the county’s NextGen program. “This district is generally South Of Roscoe Road between Main Street on the West and River Road, to the east,” staff said during the presentation.

The commission’s recommendation advances the district to the Common Council for final action. Staff told the commission the project plan focuses on infrastructure — Roscoe Road reconstruction, a multiuse path connecting to the Eisenbond Trail, a roundabout at Roscoe and River, and decommissioning a lift station because new sewer connections would be gravity-fed. Estimated project costs in the presentation totaled about $35,000,000; staff said that figure includes municipal revenue obligations (MROs) and a mix of pay-as-you-go reimbursements to developers.

The plan assumes about 315 NextGen housing units in the residential component and roughly $75 million in industrial development over time, producing an estimated $180 million in incremental value at full build-out. Staff said the NextGen program would use a county loan of about $20,000 per unit that is repaid to the county when units sell, creating a revolving loan fund. Base property value for the parcels within the proposed district was shown as about $1.3 million; staff’s cash-flow model projects the district would close out in about 19 years if development proceeds as proposed.

Staff said a joint review board of taxing jurisdictions met and provided limited comments, broadly supporting NextGen housing and industrial development but asking about buffering between industrial and residential areas. Commissioners asked questions about timing: staff estimated most construction work would not begin until 2026–27, with infrastructure borrowing likely a year or two after district creation. A staff speaker said the lift-station decommissioning would likely be one of the first costs and estimated it at about $15,000.

After the public hearing was opened and closed with no public speakers, the commission voted to recommend the resolution establishing the TID boundaries and approving the project plan. Commissioners used voice vote; no opposition was recorded at the meeting.

If the Common Council approves the resolution, staff said specifics about flow of funds, reimbursement priority, and any development agreements with private developers will return to the city for later approval. Staff also said an opinion letter from the city attorney will be provided to confirm required statutory elements are included in the project plan.

The commission’s materials identified pay-as-you-go incentives that would return a portion of new increment to developers (staff examples showed roughly $6.3 million associated with NextGen down-payment assistance and larger industrial incentives), and noted that some off-site projects (the Roscoe Road segments and the roundabout) lie just outside the district boundary but meet the statutory half-mile test for TID-funded off-site improvements.

Commissioners and staff emphasized that the project plan and development assumptions will be refined in future development agreements; the recommendation at Wednesday’s meeting was limited to establishing the district boundaries and approving the project plan for referral to council.