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Plan Commission approves Sand Lake Road rezoning and PUD; residents warn of traffic and flooding
Summary
The commission rezoned 2137 Sand Lake Road to R‑4, and approved a planned unit development and final implementation plan for a ~48‑unit row‑house project with conditions; neighbors urged caution over traffic, single driveway access and floodplain runoff.
The Onalaska Plan Commission approved a multi‑step package of approvals for a proposed row‑house development at 2137 Sand Lake Road: rezoning the site from R‑1 to R‑4, a general development plan (PUD) with 11 staff conditions, and the final implementation plan with ten conditions. The rezoning vote was 5–1; the PUD passed 6–0 and the final implementation plan carried unanimously.
Alexis Bratt, speaking for the property owners, described roughly six acres that have been cleaned and filled and said the proposal is workforce townhouse‑style housing intended to provide rental options with maintenance included. Architect Colin Close and city staff explained the site’s FEMA constraints: the base flood elevation requires building setbacks from the BFE that make the standard maximum street‑yard setback infeasible, prompting the requested PUD deviations.
Several residents living adjacent to the site pressed the commission on traffic, single‑driveway access and chronic flooding on Sand Lake Road. Mike Eckstein and others asked why R‑4 was necessary and urged the commission to consider compatibility with the established R‑1 neighborhood. Andrea Gunderson and Adrian Hagen detailed repeated flooding incidents and asked whether the stormwater plan and emergency access had been validated; Jared Holter and staff responded that the developer obtained a FEMA conditional letter of map revision for the fill placement and that the site plan and stormwater management will be reviewed and must meet DNR and city standards.
Amanda Jackson, speaking during public comment, cited a recent state statute she called the “Truth in Planning Act,” saying that when a development aligns with a city’s comprehensive plan the city will be required to approve rezoning once the law is fully implemented; she urged commissioners to weigh whether the proposal conforms to the comprehensive plan rather than attempting to block it on other grounds.
Commissioners discussed traffic counts, emergency access, buffer landscaping, and the need for county driveway permitting for the Sand Lake Road access. Jared Holter noted the proposal includes 122 parking stalls and that the site has been through FEMA map revision steps; he and staff emphasized that detailed engineering (drainage, erosion control, sanitary) will be reviewed during site plan approval. The commission approved the rezoning and subsequent PUD and implementation plans with attached conditions; next steps are site‑plan submittal and county permitting for driveway access.
