Developer asks Suamico to accept Zenway as public street; board refers review to planning and zoning

Scott Sonneman, the owner of the Zenway condominium development, asked the Suamico Village Board on March 6 to consider dedicating the private internal road (Zenway) to the village so it would become a public street.

Director Smith told the board the developer had offered to dedicate the right-of-way but that the road has not been built and is currently narrower than the village standard (roughly 25 feet back-to-back versus the 28-foot preferred width). Smith said the village already holds a 50-foot utility easement through the development and that acceptance would require reconfigured intersection geometry, subgrade soil testing, full curb and pavement sections to meet village road-construction specifications and staff inspection during construction.

Sonneman told the board many of the utilities are already in and that accepting the road now could avoid more expensive retrofits after paving. He said some condominium residents want to be split off from a larger 33-unit plat and avoid future responsibility for maintaining the private roadway. He estimated preliminary costs of roughly $70,000–$100,000 to upgrade the private drive to public standards (engineering, intersection work, curb and pavement changes) and said splitting the plat to remove some units would likely require drilling another irrigation well, which he described in the meeting as a multi‑million‑dollar expense.

Board members questioned how accepting a private road tied to reduced setback and lot-size concessions would affect the village's zoning precedent. Several trustees said they were sympathetic to avoiding future homeowner maintenance burdens but cautious about setting a policy that might encourage future developers to seek similar exceptions to the zoning code. Trustee McKeifrey and others urged caution about potential spot exceptions and emphasized the need to understand side-yard and right-of-way setbacks if the road became public.

Trustees and staff recommended two next steps: obtain an engineered plan overlay showing the proposed right-of-way, building footprints, and exact dimensions (to scale) so the board can see the setback distances visually, and refer the matter to the planning and zoning commission for review. Director Smith said the Public Works and Utility Commission had reviewed the concept in February and was not opposed if stipulations were met. The board set a path to bring a planning-and-zoning recommendation back to a future board meeting rather than making a final decision tonight.

What happens next: staff will provide roadway and right-of-way specifications and a scaled overlay for planning and zoning to review; the planning commission date referenced in the meeting discussion was April 13 with further board consideration to follow.