Commission throws a wrench into brewpub plan

The Port Washington Plan Commission last week threw a monkey wrench into the quick approval of plans for a new Inventors Brewpub on the city’s north harbor slip.

The commission voted 5-1 to require the building to maintain a five-foot setback from the walkway on its west side instead of allowing the structure to extend to the property line.

Commission member Tony Matera, who made the motion to require the setback, said the city should ensure that the developer adheres to the parameters for the building that were established in the development agreement.

“The developer and the city have an agreement in place,” he said. “They (the developer) should honor the agreement.

“We’re not changing the playing field midstream. They had a developer’s agreement in front of them when they drew up the plans. The architect knew what he had to work with.

Matera said he supports the Inventors plan but added the five-foot setback is an important element because it ensures that the building won’t feel like it’s encroaching on the public walkway along the west side.

The easement, he noted, will allow for some landscaping between Inventors and the public walkway. Without the landscaping, he said, the wall will look “a little harsh” to the public and may discourage people from using the path.

The plans presented to the city show landscaping that would “soften” the look and give the area a more welcoming appearance, Matera said.

“We want to make sure people feel they can walk there,” he said. “It’s our job as the Plan Commission to provide public access as best we can.

“I want to protect the pedestrian way and honor the current developer’s agreement.”

Commission member Mike Ehrlich concurred, saying the landscaping is important to creating a welcoming environment.

“I would strongly recommend the council consider that five feet,” he said.

Voting to keep the five-foot setback were Matera, Ehrlich and commission members Kyle Knop, Eric Ryer and Paul Neumyer. Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven cast the lone dissenting vote, and Mayor Ted Neitzke, the commission chairman, did not vote.

The five-foot no-build easement on the west side of the site as well as a requirement that the southwest corner of the proposed building be angled were included in the developer’s agreement in 2018, when the site was to become home to the Blues Factory entertainment complex. 

The changes were incorporated into the agreement to accommodate a proposal to convert the neighboring shopping center into condominiums — a proposal that’s since been dropped.

The commission’s motion came as members were asked to approve what Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, called a correction to the site plan for Inventors.

The commission in January approved a plan that due to a technical error showed the property line and building 10 feet from their intended location, Harris said.

The intention was always to have the building abut the property line on the west, he said. To compensate for that, he noted, the developer agreed to set the second floor of the building back 17 feet to allow better sight lines for any future construction west of the brewpub.

Gertjan van den Broek of TBF Development, which owns the property and will build the brewpub, said, “The building’s on the property as was always intended.”

But Knop questioned that, noting that if the structure is built to the property line there won’t be any landscaping along the western walkway, as shown in the plans.

“This wasn’t just a clerical error,” he said of the fact landscaping is shown on the renderings.

Neumyer said he worried that the sidewalk would have to be narrowed if the city has to install landscaping along the walkway. Neitzke said he would veto any proposed narrowing, saying the walkway should remain its current width.

The Common Council is set to consider amendments to the developer’s agreement when it meets on March 1, including an amendment that would remove the western setback from the agreement.