City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

Meeting Date: February 6, 2007

Item No.:        

Recommendation:  That the Council consider Ordinance No. 2445, which would rezone the property at 3521 East Oakwood Road from Rs-2, Single Family Residential to I-1, Institutional.

Background: The Oak Creek-Franklin School District is requesting that the property at 3521 E. Oakwood Road be rezoned from Rs-2, Single Family Residential to I-1, Institutional to allow for the future construction of a new middle school on the northern portion of the property. 

When considering a rezoning the Common Council should take several factors into review including the City’s Land Use Plan, the compatibility with surrounding land uses and zoning, and traffic impact.  While issues such as stormwater management and site drainage, site layout, building architecture, screening from adjacent properties and lighting are important, they should be discussed within the context of whether the proposed use is appropriate for the site.  These are issues that must be examined by City staff and the Plan Commission when the applicant applies for site plan approval if the property is rezoned by the Common Council. For instance, it has been mentioned at the that stormwater is a concern.  While that may be the case, stormwater is a site issue that must be dealt with regardless of whether the site develops as a school site, or under its existing residential zoning.  There are standards that must be adhered to regardless of the use.

The City’s Comprehensive Plan does not designate specific areas for Institutional land uses but does offer some insight as to the locational requirements for schools, and in particular a middle school.  A copy of that section of the Comprehensive Plan is included as part of this staff report.

This site has approximately 20 developable acres at the northern portion of the site and an additional 6 acres or so south of the wetland area that are proposed for play fields.  This compares with a total acreage of app. 21 acres at the West Middle School site and 30 acres at the existing East Middle School location.  Nonetheless, the School District needs to be sensitive to the concerns of the neighborhood when designing the facility. This means that the District needs to be flexible when considering alternatives that would lessen the impact on the immediate neighborhood, such as consideration for a two-story building, or the placement of parking lots, playfields, ponds or roadways.  The District has proposed a single-story, 190,000 sf building, and has decided against pursuing a two-story option that would have made better use of the site. The District also needs to be aware of, and plan for off-site roadway improvements to Oakwood Road, since the cost for these improvements will be their sole responsibility as developers of this project.

By design, and in keeping with the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan, all of the City’s schools are near or in residential neighborhoods.  This zoning change would be consistent with past school rezonings throughout the City. The Comprehensive Plan recommends the addition of an additional middle school site south and east of the present middle school. 

On December 6, 2006, Alderwoman Dimity Grabowski held a neighborhood meeting at Deerfield Elementary School which was attended by approximately 80-100 residents.  There were several concerns brought up by audience members.  One of the most common concerns at the meeting was about stormwater management, drainage, and the impact on surrounding properties, many of whom claim to have existing stormwater issues.  Many residents doubt that the stormwater ponds will contain the runoff from the school property and Oakwood Road and nearby properties will continue to flood.  The project Engineers indicated that the City and MMSD have requirements for stormwater management and runoff and all of those requirements will be met.

Another concern was the traffic impact and what improvements would be needed to Oakwood Road to accommodate the traffic generated by the school.   The project Engineers indicated that they would be adding acceleration and deceleration lanes as well as bypass lanes to assist with traffic flow on Oakwood.  It should be noted that if the property is rezoned, the City will need to determine what improvements to Oakwood Road will be required and the School District will need to enter into a development agreement and install these improvements.

Members of the audience also wanted to know why the school district didn’t look at any other sites and how this site was selected.  The school board responded by stating that many of the other sites they looked at were not made available to them for sale or they had other issues.

Some other issues included emergency access to the proposed play areas south of the wetlands, concerns about how fast this project is moving forward, ensuring there is enough parking during special events, and how pedestrians and bicyclists can safely access the school given Oakwood Road’s current layout. 

The Plan Commission (see attached minutes) has recommended that this property not be rezoned from Rs-2, Single Family Residential to I-1, Institutional.

The City has received several protest petitions in response to this rezoning request.  The validity of those petitions is being researched by the City Attorney, who in turn will advise the Council as to the Council’s obligations.

Fiscal Impact:  The rezoning, if approved, would effectively remove the value of this agricultural property (currently $6700) from the tax rolls.

Prepared by: Doug Seymour, AICP Director of Community Development	Respectfully submitted, Patrick DeGrave City Administrator
Fiscal Review by: Beverly A. Buretta, CMC City Clerk