Germantown officials are pursuing a new policy that could cap multifamily housing development in the village.
Officials discussed the potential policy publicly for the first time at a Plan Commission meeting on Monday night after a series of meetings in recent months when multifamily housing proposals have been met with opposition from some residents and commissioners.
Currently, Germantown's housing stock is about 73% single family homes, 25% multifamily and 2% mobile homes; 76% of the village's residents live in an owner-occupied unit and 24% of its population rents, according to data village staff presented at the meeting. Those ratios put Germantown at around the same ratios as Franklin, Menomonee Falls and New Berlin.
Village leaders are exploring whether they want to cap multifamily or renter-occupied housing at a higher, lower or similar ratio to what the village's housing stock is currently comprised of.
Of the 17 municipalities that village staff viewed as comparable to Germantown, the village has the fourth highest ratio of single family homes. Some commissioners and residents questioned if city staff “cherry picked” which municipalities to compare Germantown to and requested the list be expanded.
“I don’t think it’s significant that we’re at the low end for high density housing," said commissioner
William Shadid. "If (high density housing) is not what the community wants we need to be aware of that.”
Commissioners instructed village staff to look into more housing and demographic data to determine if a cap on multifamily housing, a cap on renter-occupied housing or some other cap is most appropriate to meet the wishes of the Village Board and residents.
"We still have a lot of homework to do," said
Bob Sonderberg, the recently-elected village president.
In recent months, the village has received proposals for more multifamily housing, including
one that would create a "town center-style" development with multifamily housing that was characterized as "high density," which some residents have spoken in opposition to.
That development became a centerpiece of the recent village president race, in which Sonderberg criticized 15-year incumbent
Dean Wolter's support and planning process for that project,
Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
Sonderberg won the election with 62% of the vote earlier this month.
The policy Germantown is pursuing mirrors ones implemented in other municipalities like Oconomowoc, which last year
passed a policy to cap multifamily housing at 35% of the city’s housing stock. There, the policy's implementation resulted in the delay of two projects that were already proposed.
