Plan Commission backs amendments and creation of four TIDs to support downtown and industrial redevelopment

The Menomonee Falls Plan Commission voted June 2 to recommend the Village Board adopt amendments to TID 9 and TID 12 and to create two new tax-incremental districts (TID 20 and TID 21) aimed at supporting redevelopment and resolving a funding shortfall in TID 6.

Harry, a financial adviser from Ehlers, explained that the amendments to TID 9 and TID 12 would set up donor relationships to shift roughly $6,000,000 from TID 9 and about $4,200,000 from TID 12 to the underperforming TID 6. He said those transfers address prior-incurred costs—such as a hotel loan loss—rather than new incentives, and that the adjustments would push some district closure dates out by a few years (for example, TID 9 from 2028 to 2030) so the accounts can be made whole under statute. Harry added that statutory checks—receiver district type and common overlapping taxing jurisdictions, including the Menomonee Falls School District—were satisfied for the proposed donor relationships.

The amendments drew questions from residents about what would be developed and whether earlier investments that did not meet projections (the hotel) would be repeated. Planner Amy Bennett and commissioners said the TIDs are financing tools used to remediate constrained sites and to fund infrastructure (examples cited included remediation and road construction at prior TID projects), and that individual development proposals would still require separate site-plan approvals and public notice.

On the same agenda, the commission recommended creation of two single-parcel industrial TIDs. TID 20 was presented as a pay-as-you-go incentive for redevelopment of the former Coles Innovation Center; staff estimated the project could add roughly $10.4 million in value to a parcel currently valued around $19.6 million. The proposed incentive pool and administrative costs were modeled to stretch across the district’s full 20-year life. TID 21 would overlap territory inside existing TID 6, effectively restarting a 20-year repayment clock for incentives tied to a proposed 132,000-square-foot industrial development; preliminary modeling showed annual tax-increment revenues in the $150,000–$160,000 range and a pay-as-you-go incentive estimate of about $3.2 million.

The commission heard neighborhood concerns—on TID 20 and TID 21—about hours of operation, truck traffic, noise, drainage and whether future additions to building footprints might harm property values. Staff said zoning for the parcels remained industrial (I-1 light industrial where applicable), that code compliance and stormwater reviews would apply to future site plans, and that the public would receive statutory notice for subsequent hearings. Commissioners emphasized that the TID actions are limited to project-plan and boundary decisions: any actual development agreements, uses or building additions will be evaluated later through the village’s site-plan, stormwater and permitting processes.

All four TID recommendations were moved, seconded and approved by the commission and will be forwarded to the Village Board for consideration; the record shows unanimous Plan Commission recommendations on each item. The joint review board and the Architectural Control Board will be involved in subsequent reviews and the Village Board is scheduled to consider the matters in July.