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Plan commission schedules public hearing on Boucher Ford lighting exception; members ask staff to review recurring requests
Summary
The Menomonee Falls Plan Commission reviewed an application from Boucher Ford for lighting taller than code allows on a Leon Road parking lot and set a public hearing for March 4. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate why lighting-exception requests recur and whether the code should be revised, but took no formal action on the application tonight.
The Menomonee Falls Plan Commission opened discussion Feb. 4 on a lighting-exception request from Boucher Ford for a Leon Road parcel (tax key 48.9960.007) and set a public hearing for March 4.
Planner Amy Bennett told the commission the dealership is under construction and seeks an exception to allow 10 light poles as part of a parking expansion; nine poles would be near the street property line and one pole would be near the east property line. Bennett said the current request would result in proposed poles that are taller than the ordinance permits — “11.8 feet and 1.9 foot taller than allowed,” according to the staff presentation — and that the site previously received a lighting-exception approval in March 2024.
Commissioners generally signaled they expected the public hearing to be routine for this site but raised a policy question: several members noted this is the fourth or fifth lighting- exception request in recent months and asked staff to study whether the zoning code or the formula used to calculate allowed lighting needs revision.
Commissioner Steve Briskowitz said maintaining commission oversight is valuable where projects border residential areas, while others said the code change could unintentionally remove needed review. Members asked staff to agendize a future discussion about whether the regulation is functioning as intended and whether targeted code changes are warranted.
No formal action was taken on the lighting exception tonight; the commission will hear public testimony and act after the March 4 public hearing.
Plans and next steps: Staff will present the Boucher Ford application at the public hearing on March 4. Commissioners asked staff to prepare background on comparable communities and the ordinance formula so the commission can consider whether a code amendment is appropriate.
Ending: The commission left technical details of the request and the public-hearing process to staff; the March 4 hearing will be the next opportunity for testimony and a formal recommendation to the Village Board.
