Plan commission recommends approval of Millwood Glen plat amendment and CSM for phased subdivision

The Oak Creek Plan Commission voted Jan. 13 to recommend that the common council approve an amendment to the Millwood Glen preliminary subdivision plat and a related certified survey map dividing the site into two lots to enable phased development.

City staff presented the amendment, noting the 38‑acre site at 3521 East Oakwood Road contains significant wetlands and a flood‑plain fringe and had previously been rezoned to RS‑4. The amendment adds a phasing line — phase 1 would include 21 residential lots and two outlots; phase 2 would include 23 lots and one outlot — and shifts the western stormwater pond slightly east to move it further from adjacent residents.

Ben Lane of Verdean Homes (the developer) said the phasing line and pond shift were intended to align final plat and construction sequencing; the team plans to record separate final plats for each phase. Lane said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined the site is non‑jurisdictional at the federal level and that the developer expects to submit materials to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for a nonfederal wetland exemption. "We do meet all of the criteria according to our shared delineator, so we're very confident we will get those approvals," Lane said; he added that failure to obtain DNR approval would make the project infeasible.

Commissioners asked about the DNR exemption, timing between phases (Lane estimated about a year, depending on sourcing fill), and the rationale for using a CSM for phasing (Lane explained it was an internal business/LLC structure reason). Engineering staff noted existing development agreements for public water and stormwater maintenance and that reconstruction and erosion-control permits will be required.

Mark moved to approve the plat amendment subject to conditions including coordination with Oak Creek water and sewer utility, provision of a Wisconsin DNR nonfederal wetland exemption letter prior to council consideration of stormwater agreements, and required technical corrections; the motion carried by roll-call vote. The commission separately recommended approval of the certified survey map with technical corrections required before recording.

Both recommendations proceed to the common council; staff emphasized that DNR documentation and technical corrections must be in place before final development approvals and permit issuance.