The Menomonee Falls Plan Commission recommended that the Village Board adopt the Village Comprehensive Plan 2025–2045 on Nov. 4, advancing a plan that staff and the plan consultant said reflects more than a year of public outreach. The commission approved a motion to transmit the draft plan to the board with a modification for one parcel near the Home Depot/Thunder Ridge Drive area (tax key 14972).

Amy Bennett, the village planner, opened the public hearing and summarized outreach that included more than 3,500 public touchpoints and an open house in September. Brian Wiedenfeld, the project consultant with MSA Professional Services, described the document as a 20‑year visioning guide that the village can use for budgeting, capital planning and grant applications. "A comprehensive plan is a visioning document, that looks 20 years into the future, providing a guide for the physical, social, economic, vision for a community," Wiedenfeld said.

During public comment, PJ Burbach, appearing on behalf of PJB Falls LLC, objected to proposed future land‑use changes for two parcels along Thunder Ridge Drive, saying the draft map that shows medium‑density multifamily across the street from the Home Depot and low‑density residential on a larger parcel "is an absolutely inappropriate use for those sites" and described past investment and market attempts on the land. Amy Bennett and members of the commission responded by reviewing options and the practical constraints of the sites, including slopes, wetlands and limited streetfront width.

Following a lengthy discussion that included ideas such as townhouses, small multi‑tenant buildings, and storage/office‑warehouse uses, the commission adopted a motion that will send an amended land‑use map to the Village Board. The motion keeps the environmental lands designation intact, retains low‑density residential on the southern portion of tax key 14972, and redesignates the northwestern portion adjacent to Thunder Ridge as medium‑density residential. Commissioners agreed the horizontal demarcation will run along the southernmost east‑west property line of the Home Depot parcel, effectively creating a transition strip between the big‑box uses and lower‑density lands farther south.

The recommendation does not change current zoning; Bennett noted that zoning amendments would be required for any future rezoning or planned residential development. The plan commission vote was unanimous to recommend the board adopt the plan with the stated modification.

What the plan means going forward: the comprehensive plan provides guidance and a framework, but legal changes to zoning or approvals for specific projects will require separate applications (rezoning, PRD, ACB reviews) and, in many cases, site‑specific engineering or environmental reviews. The commission and staff said further, more granular planning would follow if prospective developers present proposals consistent with the amended future land‑use map.

Provenance: The commission presentation began at 00:01:11 and public comment on the Thunder Ridge parcels started at 00:11:24; the planning commission motion and vote appear at 01:00:34 in the record.