West Bend council adopts FEMA flood maps, approves multiple land-use and developer agreements

The West Bend Common Council on Dec. 15 adopted updated Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance rate maps and enacted a companion zoning text amendment to align the municipal code with state and federal floodplain requirements.

City planning staff told the council the FIRM updates were required by statute and federal law and that the changes produced only slight adjustments in some areas. "We are required by state statute and federal law for the federal flood maps to be approved," staff member Jim said during the council discussion. Council members voted to adopt ordinance No. 22 and its related text amendment, ordinance No. 23, effective Feb. 20, 2026.

The council also approved a comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning request from Lang Urban Sustainable Homes, often referred to as Lush Homes, that changes roughly 0.69 acres from single-family to two-family residential and rezones about 0.84 acres from RS-4 to RD-2 to enable a planned unit development of duplexes near Highmount Road and Stratford. Jim told the council the proposal is consistent with adjacent two-family uses to the south. The measures were adopted by voice vote.

Separately, the council granted final plat approval to Lakewood Farms Phase 1, a 26-lot single-family subdivision, after staff confirmed sanitary sewer, water, storm sewer, curb, gutter, sidewalks and pavement are complete. The body also approved Amendment No. 1 to the Lakewood Farms developer agreement to allow utility pedestals to be placed in street yards for the current and next phases and to require landscaping and maintenance provisions around those pedestals. Jim said the developer will install the landscaping and that maintenance is expected to transfer to homeowners' associations.

Council members also approved resolution No. 53 accepting various water utility easements and the dedication of an outlot associated with a former campus site; staff said the outlot includes park improvements at the Ridge Run entrance and retains easements for a water tower and lines to ensure access for maintenance.

All of the land-use and developer-agreement items passed by voice vote. The council set the effective date for the flood-map ordinances as Feb. 20, 2026. The council moved into a closed session later in the evening to discuss a possible intergovernmental agreement and indicated no public action would result from that session.