Hartland board weighs partial fee waiver for proposed senior housing, reviews public-safety building options; approves ARPA audit and routine items

The Village of Hartland Village Board on Tuesday discussed a developer request to reduce sewer and other impact fees for a proposed 124‑unit senior living project on Campus Drive and reviewed two options for consolidating or relocating public‑safety and administrative facilities, while approving an independent examination of the village’s ARPA expenditures and several routine agenda items.

The board spent the largest portion of its discussion on a request tied to the 3Leaf Senior Living project, proposed across from Lake Country Lutheran High School. Mr. Ford, a developer representative, told the board the project faces a financing gap and asked the village to cover part of the impact and regional sewer availability charges. “We would propose that the developer pays $882,000 of this,” Ford said, referring to a table that excluded library and park impact fees and included Delhart and regional sewer connection fees. Ford said the full combined impact and sewer total is $1,265,000 and that the developer was seeking a waiver of “$382,000.”

Board members pressed for detail before expressing varying levels of openness. Trustee Tim Hallquist and others asked how the village’s estimated utility usage for the senior development was calculated; Ford said the developer relied on Trio Engineering and industry averages showing senior independent‑living units typically use about 37 percent of the water and sanitary capacity of a single‑family home, and that the developer proposed paying the percentage of the regional connection fee equal to that 37 percent. Ford said the project still faces “a gap of about $800,000.”

Several trustees and staff raised concerns about precedent and long‑term operating costs. One trustee said waiving fees…