- Ashwaubenenon is considering two overheight building projects at Tuesday's Plan Commission meeting: The Promenade and the Cambria Hotel
- The Ashwaubenon height restrictions map has been used since 2005, when Village Board members adopted it to avoid large structures near residential homes, according to Village Manager Joel Gregozeski
- Given the recent exceptions to the map and growing development in the Village, the Village Board has discussed a study to gauge whether to change the map
- The City of Green Bay also has height requirementsfor new buildings, but the limits are based on what the land is zoned for — Ashwaubenon's restrictions are separate and distinct from zoning
- Video shows renderings of the two new projects and Gregozeski explaining the next steps
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The developers behind a new building, called the Promenade, are trying to build above the Village of Ashwaubenon's height requirements. This comes just after developers of the Cambria Hotel were hoping to be above those same requirements. I'm your Ashwaubenon neighborhood Karl Winter with a look at why those requirements are even there.
"This map here is current as of April of 2005," Joel Gregozeski said.
Ashwaubenon's village height restriction map has been the same for almost two decades — grey areas are limited to 36 feet, orange to 60 feet, and blue to 120. But why?
"The Board, at that time in the early 2000s, enacted that to put some restrictions on the amount of building mass that would be immediately adjacent to single-family homes," Gregozeski said,
To give you some perspective, this apartment complex stands four stories, sliding just under the Ashwaubenon height requirement of 60 feet. So why do some new buildings just a block away need Village approval to stand taller than 36 feet?
With developers proposing two overheight buildings at Tuesday's Plan Commission meeting, Gregozeski says it may be time for a change.
"[Requests for exceptions are] likely not going to go away," Gregozeski said.
Gregozeski says the Village usually makes exceptions for projects that fit well in the neighborhoods, as long as the project avoids excessive noise or invading neighbors' privacy.
"As long as there's some effort being made to mitigate or eliminate any adverse effects as it relates to those issues — generally speaking, the Board has been willing to entertain those proposals," he said.
Now, Ashwaubenon is discussing a study to gauge community interest in re-drawing the height requirement map. But that likely would not happen until the Village reconsiders its comprehensive plan in 2024.
