Developers present Paps Farms master plan; council asks for more detail on housing mix and TIF

Developers with Cobalt Partners and representatives of the Pabst/Paffs Farms project presented a conceptual master plan to the City of Oconomowoc Committee of the Whole on Dec. 2, describing a mixed‑use village with retail frontage, multiple housing types and a proposed community campus that would include a roughly 10,000‑square‑foot senior center. Scott Yauch of Cobalt Partners said the team has delivered market analysis and will submit a master plan, then a financial model and implementation timeline if the council provides direction.

Why it matters: the plan would add roughly 700 housing units across Oconomowoc and the neighboring Village of Summit (staff counted about 372 units inside Oconomowoc). That addition would change the city’s housing mix enough to push multifamily above the ratio limits established in the comprehensive plan unless the council amends the ratios, triggering a policy decision about the city’s long‑term housing mix and how retail and tax‑increment financing (TIF) might be used to support the project.

Developers described three principal housing forms: single‑story “single‑family attached” rental units (ranch style, clustered 4–6 units), garden‑style two‑story rentals, and three‑story apartment buildings. The northernmost ~50 acres in the plan are shown as lower‑height attached units intended to buffer existing neighborhoods. The development team said the mixed‑use build‑out would be phased over multiple years, roughly averaging fewer than 50 units a year in Oconomowoc, and that retail demand and market cycles would determine precise timing.

Council concerns focused on ownership versus rental tenure, compliance with the city’s adopted housing ratios (roughly 60% single family, 35% multifamily, 5% duplex), and the potential for TIF support. Several aldermen said they view the adopted ratio as a firm policy and warned against making an exception; others urged flexibility if the total project yields broader community benefits. Multiple council members asked why TIF might be necessary for a development with substantial income‑producing rental units; developers said financial details and any TIF request would be part of a later financial model after the council signals support for a final site plan.

On community amenities, the team proposed the senior center as a central campus amenity and said program details and intermunicipal funding partners (it would serve “Lake Country” rather than just Oconomowoc) remain to be negotiated. The developers also committed to returning within two weeks with additional visuals, examples of housing types, and studies showing whether smaller lot single‑family or owner‑occupied options could be incorporated at the northern edge as a transition to adjacent neighborhoods.

Next steps: developers were asked to produce more detailed visuals of housing types, study options for owner‑occupied transitions at the site’s northern edge, and provide a financial model that would show any potential TIF request. The council did not take action on approvals or zoning at this meeting; direction to staff and the developers was captured by the presiding officer and will inform the next presentation.