Latest Thomas Farm development concepts again met with ire of residents

The Thomas farm property drew a big crowd again as developers presented their latest concepts for the controversial development to the town of Delafield plan commission July 12.

About 70 people packed into and overflowed into the hallway at town hall. Residents have voiced concerns and opposition to the project since it was first introduced in 2019. The 150 acres has been owned by the Thomas family for 150 years.

There was no public comment portion of the plan commission meeting, but residents still showed up to see the presentation by the developer, Neumann Developments Inc., which is the first to sign onto the project. Previously, the family and the family's attorney presented potential ideas for the land.

The latest concepts for the property, on Golf Road between Glen Cove and Elmhurst roads, include 260 and 279 units between single-family homes and duplexes or multi-family residences on the 150-acre property. Both plans include recreation spaces including a pool, pickleball courts, a bocce court and other green spaces.

The only difference between the two plans is for the southeast portion of the property along Golf Road and I-94. One plan includes putting in two-story duplexes there, and the other includes apartment buildings with up to eight units in each building.

"There’s a reason it’s very hard to live in this area: because it’s not affordable and people can’t have jobs closer to it," said Matt Neumann, president of Neumann Developments. "I wholeheartedly believe this: We need housing diversity in Waukesha County, even in the town of Delafield. This is what makes healthy communities. This is what makes healthy communities around the country."

Throughout the presentation, murmurings and remarks could be heard throughout the crowd, especially when it came to the prospect of rental properties in the proposed development. Residents also held up signs comparing the number of units per acre for the proposed development to neighboring subdivisions like Dover Bay and Woodridge.

The plan commission discussed the topic for about 40 minutes, sharing feedback with developers. Concerns about the roads and access points on Glen Cove and Golf roads were brought up, but the biggest point of contention with developers continues to be density.

When plans were first introduced in 2019, the number of units proposed was well over 450. At the March 2022 plan commission meeting, that number had dropped to 305 or 289. At that time, town Supervisor Edward Kranick hinted that the desired number of units on the land would be 250.

"I have to ask the elephant in the room: How much can you dial the density back?" Kranick said. "In March, the Thomas family attorney asked for a number, and we gave them a number. You came kind of close, but I want to hear what your thoughts are."

Neumann said  they created the concepts with the understanding that the 250 units referred to the property minus a 17-acre parcel in the southeast corner of the property. Kranick corrected him, saying that 250 was for all 150 acres. The developer seemed amenable to bringing it down.

"Is there a number that could be less than 250, I don’t know," Neumann said. "I would say, at the end of the day, our goal is to get to 250 units because that’s what we think the site can bear."

Officials ultimately directed town staff to draft a zoning ordinance with a cap at 250, but that includes possibilities for both just single-family homes and mixed single-family and multi-family. The commission took no formal action on the plans.

"I’m sick of talking about this property," Kranick said. "Honestly, I’m sick of talking about this property. Let’s figure out a way to come to a consensus here. Let’s figure out a path forward."

There is no date yet on when the development will return to the plan commission, although the earliest appears to be September.

The next step would be to hold a public hearing and then vote on the ordinances being drafted now. Those would have to be approved by the town board as well.

“I want to remind everybody that when we started this thing about four years ago, we were talking industrial, commercial and senior uses,” Kranick said. “This is the fourth time we’ve talked through this, and I’ve heard loud and clear, we want residential, and I think we are a lot closer than we were four years ago. Though obviously we need to have the density discussion.”

Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Latest Thomas farm development concepts met with ire of residents