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Plan Commission recommends residential architectural guidelines to council, expands SARB role
Summary
The commission voted to recommend ordinance changes that add architectural guidelines for residential buildings, require review of additions of 25% or more, and expand the Site & Architectural Review Board (SARB) role to improve design outcomes; staff acknowledged additional review workload but argued for clearer standards.
Cedarburg’s Plan Commission voted to recommend to the Common Council a package of changes to the zoning code that would add architectural guidelines for residential buildings and give the Site & Architectural Review Board (SARB) a clearer role in reviewing new residential construction and significant additions.
Planner Mary explained the proposed ordinance would distinguish regulatory language (‘shall’/‘must’) from guideline language (‘should’/‘encouraged’) and require that architectural covenants reflect the new standards for new residential projects. The revision would trigger architectural review when an existing home’s square footage increases by 25% or more, treating that project similarly to an infill lot review.
Commission discussion ranged from concerns about increasing the staff and board review burden, to comparisons with neighboring cities that use similar review regimes, to suggestions about objective scoring systems used by other municipalities to promote consistency. Several commissioners said the guidelines would produce more consistent, higher‑quality architectural outcomes over time, while staff acknowledged the additional workload but supported the change to avoid repeated back‑and‑forth on individual projects.
The commission voted to recommend the ordinance package to the Common Council for adoption and asked staff to advance the draft in ordinance format.
