Muskego committee rejects reconsideration of Gulfview Estates ditch waiver; upholds curb-and-gutter standard

The Muskego City Public Works & Safety Committee on Nov. 3 voted against reconsidering a waiver that would allow roadside ditches instead of the city’s standard curb-and-gutter for the proposed Gulfview Estates subdivision.

Planning and engineering staff told the committee the decision turns on whether the project should use an “urban” cross section (curb, gutter and storm sewer) or a “rural” cross section (road shoulder with ditches). Staff said nearby subdivisions predominantly have curb-and-gutter and recommended the same for Gulfview to avoid maintenance and drainage problems.

“If you do curb and gutter, it’s gone. We just go fix it…we can get out there in 24 hours, and we fix it,” planning/engineering staff said, arguing city-owned curb-and-gutter is easier for the city to repair and manage than privately maintained ditches.

Developer Shane Lambert, identifying himself as the owner and developer, told the committee the Gulfview lots are large — he cited roughly 44,000-square-foot lots — and said he did not expect owners of higher-value lots to leave ditch maintenance neglected. “I find that very hard to believe,” Lambert said when asked whether buyers of these lots would allow ditches to become unsightly.

Lambert also cited a provision of the city code allowing elimination of curb, gutter and storm sewer for lots above the threshold, and asked the committee to permit the rural cross section for Gulfview.

Committee members raised legal and practical concerns. One member said the city attorney had told them forcing private owners or HOAs to maintain what functions like public drainage infrastructure may not be legally enforceable. “I can’t think of a case where you can force a private owner to maintain public property,” a member said, and warned that developer agreements are enforceable only until challenged in court.

Staff added that some existing homeowners associations are defunct, leaving ownership of common easements unclear and creating gaps where neither private owners nor the city maintain ditches.

After procedural discussion, a motion to reconsider the committee’s earlier allowance of ditches was called and put to a roll-call vote. The recorded votes were: Alderperson Madden — No; Alderperson Doogie — No; Alderperson Decker — No. The motion failed, and the committee left the curb-and-gutter standard unchanged for the Gulfview proposal.

Planning staff noted that other parts of the project — including any rezoning, plan commission review and engineering approval tied to a 15-lot yield plan — may still proceed through their normal review channels, and that committee jurisdiction for this meeting was limited to the cross-section waiver. With no further business, the committee adjourned at about 5:22 p.m.