Planning Commission backs Heyday Oak Creek Phase 2; multiple land‑use actions go to Common Council

The Oak Creek Planning Commission on Jan. 27 recommended Common Council approval of a multi-part application to create Heyday Oak Creek Phase 2, advancing a comprehensive-plan map amendment, official map amendment, rezoning, Planned Unit Development (PUD) amendment and a certified survey map (CSM) with conditions.

Staff said the project would add about 77 units to the existing Heyday development (phase 1 contains about 130 units), including 15 two‑story townhomes fronting Pewds and a series of single‑story attached homes consistent with phase 1. The development would be served by private streets; each unit would have four parking spaces (two inside a garage) and the plan includes roughly 34 guest parking spaces. The phase is proposed for roughly 18.5 acres that would become a single Lot 1 under the CSM; the city would receive a separate remnant parcel of about 6.5 acres as part of a land-swap arrangement.

Applicant Ryan Swengruber said the team’s preference is to begin construction this summer and to build the phase at once. He said phase 1 is roughly 99% occupied and the developer is experiencing strong demand. The applicant described the land swap as conveying about 5.5 acres to the developer while the city would receive the corner parcel of roughly 10 acres for potential public uses (parks, nature preserve or other city priorities) and said a development agreement will govern the conveyance and tree-preservation in-lieu arrangements.

Residents and commissioners asked about traffic and access. A resident, Adam King, expressed concern about an additional entrance near his neighborhood; staff and the applicant said a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) had been completed and provided to staff and that site-plan review will incorporate TIA recommendations (turn/lanes and other mitigations). Commissioners also pressed on wetlands and buffers; the applicant said they would avoid and enhance an identified environmental corridor and would coordinate with neighbors on fencing or landscape buffers.

The commission took separate recorded motions on each item and voted to recommend the package to Common Council. Staff notified the commission that the Common Council public hearing is scheduled for March 17. The commission’s CSM recommendation included conditions requiring a development agreement and recorded easements and utility easements prior to issuance of permits or recording.

Next steps: the items move to Common Council for public hearing and final action; site-plan review is expected to return to the Planning Commission in April where detailed engineering, traffic mitigations and landscaping will be reviewed.