Oconomowoc council advances Harvest at Pabst Farms plan, eases housing-ratio limit contingent on developer agreement

Oconomowoc ' In a session that drew hours of public testimony and extensive council debate, the Oconomowoc Common Council on Feb. 17 advanced four linked actions to allow the Harvest at Pabst Farms mixed-use development to proceed, including a change to the city's comprehensive-plan housing mix, a land-use amendment, the rezoning of three parcels and the creation of a planned-development (PD) overlay.

Council members voted to amend the comprehensive-plan housing ratio from the current target (60% single-family, 35% multifamily, 5% duplex/other) to a new target of 58% single-family, 37.3% multifamily and 4.7% duplex/condominium. The motion was carried on a roll-call vote of 6-1, and councilors explicitly tied the approval to a signed developer's agreement.

Why it matters: The change would let the developer's proposed mix of single-family lots, twin homes and garden-style and 3-story multifamily buildings fit within the citywide ratio calculation. City staff and the applicant said the calculation uses a conservative, worst-case snapshot that assumes other single-family construction stops; staff also proposed permit-timing conditions to make sure the multifamily…