Petition urges village to reject subdivision plan in current form

An online petition has more than 100 village residents opposing plans for a potential subdivision that would be annexed from the Town of Cedarburg into the Village of Grafton.

As of Wednesday, 154 residents signed the petition asking the Village Board to reject the plans in their current form at its next  meeting Tuesday, April 17.

According to the petition’s organizer Chris Cotton, a Town of Cedarburg resident who lives near the proposed Stonewall Reserve subdivision, the village residents are not opposed to the annexation but are against the subdivision having only one entry and exit point, which they believe would impact traffic density.

“This isn’t a Cedarburg issue, it’s clearly something the Village of Grafton residents are concerned about,” Cotton said.

“We need neighborhoods to help the community grow and that area would be great for a neighborhood, but the key issue is that the design is flawed.” 

The proposed Stonewall Reserve subdivision includes 141 homes comprised of 91 single-family lots and 25 duplexes on the northeast corner of Keup Road and Highway 60. The project is being developed by Homes by Towne, which is working on several other subdivisions in the area.

“The developer wants to do as little as possible and stuff as many homes in the area as possible to maximize their profits at the expense of the safety of the residents who will live there,” Cotton said. 

According to Amber Thomas, the village’s director of public works, a traffic impact analysis conducted by the Department of Transportation concluded there would not be a negative impact from having an estimated 300 additional vehicles traveling in the area.

“The road is ample to support the density without an additional connection to Highway 

60,” Thomas said during last month’s Plan Commission meeting.

“There are no expected delays at the intersection.”

Cotton said the DOT would have evaluated different traffic pattern options, but no alternative plans were presented by the village. 

“There are no neighborhoods in the community of that size with one entry and exit onto a major state highway, that’s really the crux of the issue,” Cotton said, noting he’s concerned if an accident occurred near the intersection first-responders would have difficulty accessing.

During last month’s Plan Commission meeting, the committee recommended that the Village Board annex the land and rezone  it from agricultural to residential use. The commission also approved a certified survey map for the property. 

A vote on a preliminary plat for the subdivision was tabled because commission members said they wanted more time for consideration.