The applicant applied to amend the previously approved plans for 12023 Durand Avenue. The plans show seven one-story data center buildings (Buildings A–G), a one-story office and storage building, and two utility substations. Supporting structures include a guardhouse, salt storage building, weather station, storm shelters and a fire pump house. Site work includes internal access roads, ten parking lots (Lots A–J), wet stormwater ponds, sound walls, perimeter security fencing, and a 10-foot multi-use path along Durand Avenue. These plans function as master site plans; the Village requires detailed landscaping, lighting, and other plans as noted in this report before the Village will issue any additional building permits.

Access. One full-access, signalized driveway on Durand Avenue opposite International Drive serves the campus. Gated, emergency-only drives are proposed on the west road (about 2,000 feet south of Durand) and on Braun Road. A separate future substation access is shown off Braun Road.

Phasing. The traffic study assumes the north portion (MKE07–MKE10) is built first, with the south and west portions built within five to ten years, and full build-out by 2041.

Encumbrances and natural features. The survey shows a We Energies utility easement (Doc. 2506315) across most parcels, an electric pole line easement (Doc. 480137), and transmission easements through the site. Durand Avenue is a controlled-access highway (Doc. 1459321) and Braun Road frontage carries access restrictions (Docs. 2501288 and 2501289). Mapped wetlands, FEMA floodplain and a waterway occupy the southwest quadrant; the plans show a 300-foot shoreland setback there and place a temporary construction laydown area nearby.

Every civil and architectural sheet is stamped "Proprietary – Confidential – Not for Public Distribution." Plans submitted for a public land-use decision are generally public records under Wisconsin's open records law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31–19.39). Staff recommends the applicant confirm in writing that the submittal may be released, or provide redacted public versions.

This application complies with the Comprehensive Plan, which lists the property as Business Park. The Bicycle Plan does not show any recommended improvements adjacent to the subject property. The Park and Open Space Plan shows minor, farmed wetlands within the subject property, some of which the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permitted the applicant to fill. It also depicts Braun Road as a corridor recommended for an enhanced bicycle facility. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation constructed an off-street multi-purpose pathway in line with this recommendation when they last reconstructed Braun Road in a multi-road reconstruction project with the village and Racine County.

All proposed principal uses are permitted by right in the C-4 district; no conditional use permit is required.

The C-4 district is intended for high-intensity commercial and manufacturing uses within business parks (§ 90-130.20(e)), which matches the Business Park designation on the Comprehensive Plan future land use map.

Accessory use timing and location. Accessory uses may be established only after the principal use is in place and must sit on the same lot as that principal use (§ 90-330.10(c)–(d)). The site plan shows the accessory structures on the same lot as the principal buildings.

Temporary construction laydown area. The laydown area in the southwest quadrant lies next to mapped wetlands and floodplain. Its limits, duration and restoration should be defined, and it must stay outside wetlands, floodplain and the shoreland setback unless state and Village permits are obtained.

Lot and Building Standards (C-4)

The plan meets the C-4 setback, lot width and coverage limits, but the guardhouse does not meet the accessory building location standard. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance from the transparency requirement.

Standards below are from Table 90-130-2. Building height is measured in stories; a story is the space between a floor and the floor or ceiling above it (§ 90-620.230).

Available relief. The Plan Commission cannot waive the guardhouse deviation:

• Guardhouse location: no administrative adjustment is authorized. The guardhouse must be relocated, attached to a principal building, or granted a variance.

Site Design Review

The site landscaping, lighting, and pedestrian circulation require additional information before the Village will issue building permits.

Access and traffic

A traffic impact analysis is required because the campus generates more than 100 peak-hour trips (§ 90-420.130). The TADI study projects 350 new peak-hour trips at initial build-out and another 350 at full build-out, and finds acceptable operations (LOS D or better) with these improvements:

• Durand Avenue / International Drive (initial build): retime the signal; add a through lane on the north approach; build a two-lane site driveway as the south approach; add a right-turn lane on the west approach; and extend the east approach left-turn lane by 100 feet. Add protected/permitted southbound left-turn phasing at full build-out.
• West emergency access: a gated, stop-controlled driveway about 2,000 feet south of Durand, with a new median opening.
• Braun Road emergency access: one of two locations, to be chosen later; signal changes are needed if it aligns with the Foxconn middle drive.

Three gaps remain. The study analyzes the earlier "MKE 07/15" layout rather than the current seven-building plan. It gives inconsistent employee counts (466 and 931 employees by phase, but 733 day-shift employees in Phase I). It also does not analyze inbound queues at the security gates during the 6 a.m. shift change, when 275 vehicles arrive in the peak hour per phase. Durand Avenue is a state controlled-access highway, so the driveway and signal work also require WisDOT authorization.

Parking, loading and pedestrian circulation

Industrial uses, including data centers, have no minimum or maximum parking requirement (Table 90-420-1). The office portion of the office and storage building does, but its floor area is not given. Staff tallied the stalls labeled on sheets C-P-100 to C-P-104, which across Lots A-J total 1,612 stalls, plus 35 motorcycle and 10 ATV stalls.

Landscaping and screening

The landscape sheets show tree symbols in parking islands only, with no plant schedule, species, sizes or quantities, so compliance with Division 90-430 cannot be verified.

Fences and walls

All fences labeled on sheets C-W-100 to C-W-104 are 8 feet or less, which complies with § 90-435.50. The plans show 8-ft metal, 8-ft chain link, 6-ft chain link and 8-ft welded wire or metal mesh fencing. Sound wall and substation wall heights and materials are not given; any wall over 8 feet needs the Community Development Director's alternative compliance approval. Barbed or razor wire, if proposed, requires the Director's approval in C-4 (§ 90-435.60(b)).

Outdoor lighting

No lighting plan was submitted. The site plan shows pole locations only. The lighting plan must show compliance with these limits:

• Fixtures over 1,000 lumens must be fully shielded, and light levels may not exceed IES recommendations by more than 25%.
• Color temperature may not exceed 3,000 K.
• Poles may not exceed 30 ft in parking and drive areas, 35 ft in outdoor work areas, and 10 ft elsewhere.
• Wall-mounted lights are allowed only within 5 ft of entrances and loading docks, unless the Director classifies perimeter fixtures as exempt security lighting.
• Light trespass is limited to 3 lux measured 20 ft into a public right-of-way and 1 lux onto waters of the United States, including the southwest wetlands.

Shoreland, floodplain and wetlands

The line labeled "300' shoreland setback" is the shoreland jurisdiction boundary (§ 90-495.20). Principal buildings must be set back 150 feet from the top of bank of Hood's Creek, Lower Pike River, Lower Sorensen Creek or the Des Plaines, and 75 feet from other shoreland waters (§ 90-495.30). A vegetative buffer of the same depth must remain undisturbed (§ 90-495.50). The plans should name the waterway and show the top of bank. Any work in mapped floodplain, including the laydown area, requires a floodplain development permit (Division 90-490); wetland fill requires DNR and Army Corps permits.

Architectural Review

The submitted elevations cover only two of the eight proposed buildings, and the roof design was found compliant through alternative compliance under § 90-405.40(b). The Village previously approved the building elevations for the three northeast buildings (Buildings A–C). Elevations are still needed for Buildings F and G, the office and storage building, the guardhouse and the salt storage building.

This application complies with the following key strategies and outcomes of Confident in the Future: Mount Pleasant 2030 Strategic Plan.

• Balance Growth and Development. Planning major Village initiatives to optimize budgeting impact, ensuring compliance with the Comprehensive Plan.
  
  • Outcome: Long-term local and regional benefits of Tax Incremental District No. 5. Growth of jobs and tax base continues in TID No. 5, creating resources to support initiatives that will benefit the Village and entire region for generations.

Staff Recommendation and Conditions

Staff recommends that the Plan Commission recommends conditional approval of SP-26-11, subject to the conditions below.

Recommended conditions

1. Scope of approval. This approval sets the general arrangement of uses, access points, internal circulation and building envelopes. Each phase requires its own site plan approval, with full civil, landscape, lighting and architectural plans, before any building permit is issued.
2. Lapse period. Under § 90-540.70(c), this approval lapses if the first building permit is not issued within 1 year.
3. Guardhouse. The guardhouse must be relocated to a rear yard, attached to a principal building, or granted a variance. Its design must match the principal buildings (§ 90-405.20(c)).
4. Lighting. A lighting plan meeting Division 90-425 must be approved before any building permit is approved.
5. Landscaping. A landscape plan meeting Division 90-430 must be approved, including interior parking lot landscaping (403 canopy trees for 1,612 stalls, or the green infrastructure alternative), street-frontage screening, and equipment screening at Buildings F and G.
6. Site data. The applicant must submit the site data table containing lot area, footprint and floor area per building, building and impervious coverage, stalls by lot, accessible stalls, and office floor area.
7. Pedestrian facilities. The applicant must provide an internal pedestrian network meeting § 90-420.70(b)–(e), and construct the 10-ft multi-use path shown along Durand Avenue.
8. Traffic. The applicant must obtain WisDOT authorization for the Durand Avenue driveway and signal changes, and WisDOT and Village approval for the west emergency access median opening. The applicant must also select the Braun Road emergency access location, submit a traffic study addendum and gate queue analysis, and construct the recommended improvements.
9. Fences and walls. Sound walls and substation walls over 8 feet require alternative compliance approval (§ 90-435.50). No barbed wire, razor wire or electrified fencing may be installed without the Director's approval (§ 90-435.60(b)).
10. Natural resources. The applicant must show the shoreland setback and undisturbed vegetative buffer (§§ 90-495.30, 90-495.50), obtain DNR and Army Corps permits for any wetland impact, and obtain a floodplain development permit for any work in mapped floodplain. The temporary laydown area requires defined limits and a restoration plan.
11. Engineering. Stormwater management, grading, sanitary sewer and water plans must be approved by the Village Engineer, the applicable utilities and DNR.
12. Fire and emergency access. The Fire Department must approve fire lanes, hydrant locations, gate access, Knox box locations and the link bridge clearance.
13. Signs. All signs require separate sign permits under Division 90-440.

The staff estimate the total taxable value for the proposed development at $6,095,690,000, which would generate approximately $103,148,899 in incremental tax revenues while TID 5 remains open, and $33,546,541 in village revenues once TID 5 closes. Once fully constructed, the project would generate an estimated $7,694,420 per acre. Over a 40-year period, the Total Revenue to Cost Ratio is projected at 77:1. This projection assumes a full buildout in year one, which is unlikely, and revenues will likely moderate with a phased construction schedule over many years. That said, the project, as presented, would likely still contribute far more tax revenue than require in adjacent public infrastructure liability and public service costs to the village.