Village board approves Carolyn at Germantown PDD rezoning for 36 rental homes after heated debate

The Village of Germantown on Monday approved a rezoning and certified survey map to allow a 36-unit rental development on a 5.4-acre parcel owned by Faith Lutheran Church.

Trustee Pieper moved to approve the rezoning to create the Carolyn at Germantown Planned Development District and a two-lot certified survey map. The board first approved the certified survey map and then the rezoning; each vote carried with three trustees recorded as opposed.

Jordan (staff planner) told the board the project would deliver 36 multifamily dwelling units in a mix of triplexes and quadplexes at a density of 6.7 dwelling units per acre, below the RM-2 maximum. The plan includes two driveways to Division Road, private drives and enclosed private yards for each unit. Staff recommended buffering and a minimum 10-foot landscaping swath at the site perimeter and raised a $26,000 sidewalk construction estimate for the adjacent Division Road frontage.

Trustee Jesse Baum mounted a broad critique of the proposal, calling it “the worst thing that has ever come before this board,” saying the buildings are too tightly packed and the product form is incompatible with surrounding housing. Trustee Baum urged a different housing typology and questioned parking and yard sizes.

Daniel Osboni of Sears Property Group, the applicant, said construction costs and soft costs make the per-unit development cost significantly higher than an earlier estimate some trustees cited. “The cost per unit is not $260,000. It’s significantly higher than that,” Osboni told the board, and said the developer elevated exterior materials to fiber-cement siding and masonry to deliver a higher-quality product.

Supporters on the board noted the proposal is consistent with the village’s 2050 plan designation for the Mequon Road corridor and said the project would place previously tax-exempt land onto the tax rolls and generate impact fees and annual tax revenue. Staff estimated village tax revenue at roughly $44,000 per year and total taxes to other jurisdictions of about $130,000 annually under earlier assumptions; the applicant said updated pricing will increase those estimates.

The board approved the certified survey map and then the PDD rezoning, each vote passing with three opposing trustees. Conditions attached to the rezoning include required landscaping and participation in the site-plan process to finalize engineering, drainage and building design. The board did not adopt a final site plan tonight; staff will work with the applicant through subsequent site-plan and building-permit reviews.

The board’s action advances the rezoning but leaves details—such as sidewalk responsibility and final architectural tweaks—to the site plan approval process.