The City Plan Commission met 05/14/2025. They took up two main action items. One was a request to rezone the Dorn Annexation that was recently brought into the city from the Town of Grand Chute from an AG Agricultural District to an R-1B Single-family District. The other was a request to approve the annexation of approximately 72 acres along French Road into Appleton from the Town of Grand Chute.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend each item for approval.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
DORN ANNEXATION REZONING – The developer wanted to change the zoning from agricultural to an R-1B Single Family District.
A Public Hearing was associated with the item, during which two members of the public spoke. One person just wanted to clarify whether single-family homes would be built on the land or 2-family homes as well. Community Development Department Deputy Director David Kress said that R-1B zoning primarily only allowed for single family homes. The city’s Future Land Use Map had designated the area for single- and two-family homes, but the zoning the developer was seeking only allowed for one-family homes.
The other person who spoke at the public hearing owned a home located near the property being rezoned. He was concerned about the loss of farmland and the implications of convert the 95 acres into what he described as “dense residential housing”. He felt that modern housing development often prioritized “profit over space, resulting in a tightly packed property that left communities feeling cramped and suffocated.” He was concerned the developer of the Dorn Annexation would have cookie cutter designs on small lots that would stand “in stark contrast to the unique, spacious homes that define our neighborhood today.”
He asked the city to, as the land was developed, prioritize open spaces, walking paths, bike paths, etc., and to allow the houses to be unique with large yards. Finally, he hoped the new houses would be single story houses because, “That way when I sit by my window, and as greedy as this might sound, with my morning coffee, I won’t be staring at the backyard or at the backs of four towering houses instead of something that feels more at home.”
Mayor Woodford noted that the matter before the commission was only the rezoning, not site plans or the layouts of the properties.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) asked what was the difference between the R-1B zoning the developer was seeking and R-1A zoning. Deputy Director Kress said R-1A Districts had a minimum lot size of 8,000 square feet whereas R-1B has a minimum lot size of 6,000 square feet. Additionally side yard setbacks were 8 feet in R-1A Districts but only 6 feet in R-1B Districts.
Alderperson Denise Fenton (District 6) asked how many housing needed to be built per year over the next 10 years to address the housing shortfall in the area. Community Development Director Kara Homan said that the latest estimate was that they needed to build 180 owner occupied homes and 160 renter occupied units per year.
Alderperson Patrick Hayden (District 7) said that the city’s Comprehensive Plan planned for a bike path to be put in the area. He asked for details about that plan. Director Homan said that after the property is rezoned, the developer will present a request to subdivide the land. As the city reviews that “We get together with public works department, with Parks Department, with our planning team, and we look at all the city plans and in terms of what you’ve referenced, in terms of bicycle and pedestrian facilities being planned. We are aware that they’re planned for this particular property, and as those subdivision road and other networks are being kind of laid out, that’s definitely feedback we give to the developer, and we make sure it’s incorporated.”
The commission voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning request be approved.
DEWITT ANNEXATION – Dewitt development Partners, LLC, the owner of approximately 72 acres of land in the 6000 block of French Road wanted to annex the land from Grand Chute into the City of Appleton. This would allow future development to connect to the city of Appleton’s public utilities and infrastructure. After the property was annexed, the developer wanted to rezone the land to R-2 Two Family District. This planned rezoning would allow for the construction of both single- and two-family homes.
The commission voted unanimously to recommend the annexation for approval.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1302576&GUID=9FEA5088-2B98-4CFC-AB96-4754B546511E
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