Subdivision decision on hold in town

Plans are on hold for the development of a single-family subdivision on a parcel that was once pegged for a controversial business park in the Town of Grafton.

The Plan Commission on Tuesday, Feb. 6, approved a request by developer Dan Scardino of Point Real Estate to table a decision on amending the town’s land-use map and comprehensive plan because Scardino said he wants more time to speak with neighbors and reconfigure his plan.

Commission members Bob Wolf and Patrick Stemper voted against tabling the decision because they believe Scardino had enough time to prepare plans. 

More than 40 residents were in attendance during the commission’s Nov. 7 meeting, where members considered rezoning about 60 acres of land on Ulao Parkway South, just west of the Highway C intersection.

Ultimately, the commission voted 6-1 to table a decision on the proposal. Stemper voted against the decision.     

According to the town’s future land-use map, the majority of the acreage is zoned agricultural, with the rest designated for rural transition (R-Tr) development.

Scardino asked the town to amend the map and comprehensive plan and rezone the land to allow one-acre lots in an R-3 residential zoning district.  

“What I want to do is create a community that is going to be palatable for someone coming in and building a house,” said Scardino at the November meeting.

Scardino said the R-Tr zoning would only allow him to develop 30 homes, but with the R-3 designation, he could build about 44 homes that would each cost $500,000 to $600,000.

According to the town zoning code, R-Tr housing must have an overall density of two acres and minimum area of a one-acre plat in a subdivision. The minimum areas are 2,000 square feet for a two-story house and 1,750 square feet for a one-story house.

The R-3 zoning calls for a one-acre lot minimum, with minimum areas of 1,650 square feet for a two-story house and 1,250 for a one-story house.

During a November public hearing, several residents voiced concern about the development, saying it could set a precedence for future planning.

At the hearing, commission members said the R-Tr district was only created  about a year ago and would like to see new development created according to those guidelines.

“I personally don’t like this idea,” Stemper said of the proposed development. “We haven’t given the R-Tr a chance, and we have to be careful with what we do.”

Town Chairman Lester Bartel said developing a residential property on the land would prevent future annexation by  the Village of Grafton.

The village’s comprehensive plan calls for the land in question and surrounding area as “future urban development” and is further defined as “areas for designated long-term development.”

Last year, the village partnered with NAI MLG Commercial, a real-estate firm, to develop a business park plan for 114 acres of farmland at the northwest corner of Highway C and Ulao Road.

The land would have been annexed into the village and rezoned from agricultural to a planned industrial district. The village would have been responsible for infrastructure improvements for the project, and officials discussed creating a tax incremental financing district to pay for the work.

After residents from both the town and village spoke in opposition to the business park, village officials abandoned the plan.

The Town Plan Commission is expected to consider amending the land-use map and comprehensive plan at its April meeting.