Council approves Winterberry Reserve PUD to add 79 single-family lots, including 40-foot ‘carriage-lane’ homes

The Waukesha Common Council approved a rezoning to RS-3 with a planned-unit-development overlay and a preliminary subdivision plat for Winterberry Reserve, a 22.2-acre single-family subdivision that will contain 79 lots and two outlots.

Viridian Homes and project consultants presented the revised plat, explaining the developer had reworked an earlier 54-lot plan into a mix of larger perimeter lots and narrower interior lots to create market diversity. The interior block will include 40- to 45-foot-wide lots served by a private carriage-lane (alley) with rear garages; those narrow lots would have minimum lot sizes down to about 4,520 square feet. The developer said the mix lets the project offer attainable single-family homes in the mid-$400,000s while still building larger 12,500–20,000-square-foot perimeter lots that will support higher-priced product.

Key adjustments in the PUD include reducing minimum lot widths and areas from the RS-3 zoning baseline (the City’s RS-3 minimum lot size is 8,000 square feet and minimum lot width is 60 feet) to allow 40-foot widths and related setback relief. The PUD specifies a 15-foot front-yard setback (porches may encroach an additional 3 feet), 5-foot side-yard setbacks with a minimum 10-foot separation between buildings, 18-foot rear-yard setbacks where garages and alleys are provided, and a requirement for four off-street parking spaces per lot (two in the garage and two behind the garage between the garage and the alley). The alley will be private and maintained by the homeowners association; garbage and recycling for the interior narrow lots will be collected from the alley.

Developers and staff framed the proposal as a response to a housing study and a shortage of moderately priced new single-family homes in the city. Ben Lang of Viridian Homes said the product is designed to provide “high-efficiency single family” homes that deliver similar interior floor plans to larger lots but at lower lot-cost through an alley-loaded configuration.

Neighbors acknowledged communication from the developer but raised concerns at the public hearing about density, drainage, wildlife displacement and traffic. Stuart Oh, representing the Tallgrass neighborhood HOA, asked the council to consider a slightly lower number of homes in the transition area and raised drainage and stormwater questions. Long-time residents and business owners echoed concerns about the long-term character of the area and the potential for future higher-density or different uses if zoning relief became standard.

Council debate included both support for increasing housing supply and concern about departing from typical lot-size standards. Some alderpersons argued the proposal responds to a city housing shortage and helps provide attainable ownership opportunities in Waukesha; others said the council should be cautious about repeatedly granting large deviations from minimum lot-size standards. The preliminary plat and rezoning passed following a motion and second; after a procedural reconsideration requested by one alderperson the council re-voted and approved the plat and rezoning (final recorded vote: 9–2).

Next steps: staff will finalize the PUD agreement language, the developer will address any outstanding staff comments, and recording of covenants and construction plans will follow before final plat approval and building permit issuance.