Germantown planners discuss how to count 'multifamily' and whether to track owner vs. renter

Commissioners spent an extended portion of the March 9 meeting discussing how the village should define and track its housing mix — whether by structural type (single‑family detached/attached versus multifamily) or by occupancy (owner‑occupied versus rental) — and how those choices affect policy discussions about future development.

Staff presented baseline dwelling unit counts (8,619 units as of 01/01/2024) and two candidate tables: one that records single‑family vs. multifamily structural types and another that cross‑tabs owner vs. renter for both structural types. Commissioners observed that structural type alone can be misleading (for example, owner‑occupied condominiums appear as multifamily in structural tallies but are owner‑occupied in practice) and that ownership data are difficult to verify without county or census cross‑checks.

Several commissioners and staff noted that the village cannot legally condition approvals solely on whether units will be renter‑occupied, though design and lot‑size standards can influence likely occupancy models. Commissioners asked staff to pursue additional data work with the county assessor and other sources and to return with a recommendation and refined tables — including a practical, readily‑maintainable reporting format that could be provided for each new residential project.

No policy change was adopted; the commission asked staff to refine the approach so the planning commission and village board can more easily assess the long‑term effect of proposed projects on the village housing mix, school enrollment projections and infrastructure planning.