August 8, 2018 – West Bend, WI – The West Bend Plan Commission spent time Tuesday evening looking over the proposed concept plan for a new 190,000-square-foot Fleet Farm to be located on the southeast corner of Highway 33 and County Highway Z.
The gas station and retail store would include a 5,000-square-foot convenience store along with a 5,000-square-foot convenience store and outdoor garden center.
Commission member Sara Fleischman asked how customers would get to the two retail lots being planned for future development.
City planner Jim Reinke said the commercial outlets would be accessed off the private drive that runs east west. “They will be entering off the main drive into the parking lot,” he said.
Commission member Jed Dolnick praised the design of the building but asked what type of signage the retailer would have since the building is set back a distance from State Highway 33.
“Are they going to handle signage needs with monument signs off Washington Street or will the signs be really high up,” asked Dolnick.
Reinke said that hadn’t come up yet but more than likely there will be signs on the building.
West Bend Director of Development Mark Piotrowicz spoke a bit about the surrounding wetlands and some kames to the west and east of the proposed development. He said previous plans looked at access off CTY Z but this proposal blocks that area off.
“There’s a bigger buffer now from the wetlands,” he said.
Mayor Kraig Sadownikow said a traffic study is currently underway and those details will determine possible signals or a controlled intersection taking into account Highway Z and Shepherds Drive.
Fleet Farm is still working with the DOT on access permits off the state highway.
“We’re very excited about what we’re presenting and the materials we’re using and we believe it will be a great improvement to what we have in the existing market and we’re very excited to get this store open,” said Tom Carrico with Fleet Farm.
As far as what will become of the current Fleet Farm on Hwy 33 and 18th Avenue, Carrico said the company is already well into exploring a sale of the property.
“It’s in our best interest to sell that as well,” said Carrico. “We are very excited to get a new store going in West Bend.”
Mayor Sadownikow made sure if the sale of the site on Hwy 33 and 18th Avenue were to take a while, he wanted to make sure the building would not fall into further disrepair.
There are several more steps that have to be taken before construction can officially get underway including zoning requirements, land division, two conditional use permits, and a public hearing is still needed for an amendment to the 2020 Comprehensive Plan for the City of West Bend from commercial, open space and two-family residential to commercial and open space land use for lands located on the southeast corner of CTH Z and W. Washington Street.
On a side note: I apologize in advance for poor sound in this video.
