Board approves development agreement for 218,000‑sq. ft. distribution facility; resident raises wetland concerns

The Village of DeForest on June 2 approved a certified survey map and a development agreement with Ryan Companies for a proposed 218,000‑square‑foot distribution facility west of Hickory Lane, clearing key land‑use and cost‑sharing steps while a citizen raised concerns over a possible wetland on the site.

Planner Mark Krappers and community development staff described a revised CSM that reconfigures roughly 59 acres, adds new local streets (Juniper Street and Musclewood Lane), realigns King Parkway and retains an outlot for stormwater. Planning and zoning recommended conditions including verification that the building is "solar ready," that the site be EV‑ready, operational idling policies aligned with Dane County ordinances, and snow/ice practices per Wisconsin Salt Wise.

Alex and Bill described the related development agreement and an allocation of developer cost shares for public improvements. Trustee Jim summarized the most significant cost shares: a $1,139,000 developer contribution toward Hickory Lane improvements, a $190,000 developer contribution toward signalizing the Hickory Lane/County Highway B intersection, $750,000 (quoted in staff materials) toward the Lindy Lane realignment and $520,000 toward a potential interchange reconstruction tied to anticipated regional traffic impacts. Staff said those developer funds would be escrowed within a set time after execution and returned to the developer if the project does not proceed.

Ryan Companies representatives described operations and mitigation plans. "The dispatch period is about 30 minutes per wave," said Jason Vanglis, explaining that vans are loaded in staggered waves timed to avoid peak regional commute hours; Patrick Marty said the company plans to stagger dispatch so the majority of local deliveries occur outside morning and evening peak hours. Projected shift patterns included a large overnight worker shift and dispatch concentrated in a mid‑morning window.

Developer representatives said they expect to begin construction as soon as approvals are in place; in the meeting they said they hoped to break ground in July with a roughly 12‑month construction timeline, though packet materials earlier indicated an anticipated opening in 2028.

A public commenter, Cassandra (Cass) Summerfeld of Windsor, urged caution and requested a pause, saying she had spoken with the DNR and that DNR staff indicated the mapped area contains wetlands. Staff responded that a wetland delineation by Heartland Ecological Group had been completed and approved for the site, and that the DNR's online wetland mapping is outdated; staff said the delineation identified a roughly 2‑acre wetland closer to Highway V outside the immediate building footprint and that the conditional use permit includes a requirement to demonstrate no wetland impacts prior to issuing a building permit. "We will follow up with DNR to alert them that this map is outdated," staff said.

After staff and developer presentations and the public comment, trustees voted unanimously to approve the certified survey map (Ordinance 2026‑010) and to authorize the village president and clerk to execute the development agreement with Ryan Companies (Resolution 2026‑067).

Next procedural steps include site plan review by Planning and Zoning and a June 16 public hearing to vacate a portion of Cake Parkway right‑of‑way if the CSM moves forward; Planning and Zoning still scheduled a June 8 site plan review for the project.