Decision Delayed For Subdivision Proposed On Possible Park Land

FRANKLIN, WI — In a meeting on Tuesday, the City of Franklin Common Council tabled any decisions on a proposal to put a 35-acre housing development on land marked for possible recreation in the city’s 2025 Comprehensive Master Plan.

The proposed development — which has undergone numerous changes since it was first brought to the city in 2021 — would put 63 single-family lots on land near Ryan Road and 112th Street, adjacent to Milwaukee County Parks land known as the Franklin Savanna, city documents on the proposal show.

Bear Development LLC applied for a zoning change and an amendment to the city's 2025 Comprehensive Master Plan to create the subdivision, city documents show.

The matter could come back up for discussion in May.

Earlier iterations of the proposal sought to put between about 40 to over 100 single-family homes in the area, city documents show.

The parcel that the subdivision was proposed for is currently slated for recreational zoning in Franklin's 2025 Comprehensive Master Plan, city documents show.

Those plans are meant to serve as a guide for future development in the city.

According to the city’s website, the master plan “sets forth the City of Franklin's vision for its future development.”

At present, much of the land in question is zoned for agricultural use.

"I would like to see us put a plan together that has an alternative if we're going to take this away," Alderwoman Kristen Wilhelm said during the meeting about the proposal, "but I don't know where in the City of Franklin you're going to find a more significant resource than this one."

If the 35-acre housing development would move forward as it currently stands, it may leave a 40-acre parcel adjacent to it that would still be slated for future recreation zoning in the 2025 Comprehensive Master Plan.

Alderman John Nelson pointed toward those other acres during the meeting.

He said "we're not looking to stall this, but we would like to make sure that we have exhausted our options that's going to have some possibility for the future. If not both parcels, but at least the 40-acre parcel."

Nelson said a hasteful conclusion from the council could jeopardize a part of future green space in Franklin.

Alderman Daniel Mayer said “I think tabling this, is just prolonging it, I think we should reject it now and move on, and try and find a way for the city to purchase this property.”

"I understand the owner [of the land] wants to sell it, that's his right, the city needs to find a way to do that,” Mayer said in the meeting.

"This is our only chance at this, once it's gone it's gone," Mayer added.