Plan Commission backs 42,000‑sq‑ft Basic Metals expansion; asks for architectural revisions

The Germantown Plan Commission recommended approval on March 9 for a certified survey map and site plan that would let Basic Metals Incorporated add roughly 42,000 square feet to its manufacturing facility in the Germantown Industrial Park and combine two parcels into a single roughly seven‑acre site.

Staff (Jordan) said the manufacturing and office use is consistent with the village comprehensive plan and M‑1 zoning. The site plan adds a large driveway and truck access off Fulton Drive (staff noted the proposed 129‑foot driveway exceeds the non‑residential ordinance maximum of 35 feet but the code allows the plan commission to vary that for site plan approvals), increases impervious area and proposes a new detention pond, and requires additional landscaping and shielding of parking lot lighting to reduce spillover toward nearby single‑family homes east of River Lane.

Applicants and architects said the addition will match the existing north building’s color and aggregate while the office building will be refreshed with metal paneling; they agreed to work with staff on additional articulation and facade adjustments for elevations visible from adjacent neighborhoods. “We want to match the existing building to the north both in the aggregate of the concrete panel as well as the color of the panel,” a Basic Metals representative said.

Commissioners discussed consistency with prior architectural expectations and asked for additional façade articulation and a more restrained color scheme on elevations facing the residential area. The commission added a condition requiring the applicant and architect to work with staff to prepare revisions that will return to the commission for final architectural approval. Staff also required the village surveyor’s comments be addressed prior to recording the CSM.

The plan commission approved the one‑lot certified survey map with a condition and approved the site plan subject to a set of conditions (ten conditions were noted in the staff presentation), including additional buffering, lighting controls, and a review of architectural materials and details to reduce visual impact toward the residential properties to the east.

The commission also discussed truck turning movements and concluded the wider driveway was justified by the loading and maneuvering needs for semi‑trailers serving the expanded manufacturing operations. The motions passed by voice vote.