The Menomonee Falls Village Board on Monday, Oct. 20, rejected an ordinance to rezone two parcels northwest of Mill Road and Lannon Road to Planned Residential District (PRD) for the proposed Hilltop Grove subdivision, voting 2–5.

The proposal from Viridian Homes, presented by Ben Lang and civil designer Brian Munson, asked the board to rezone roughly 76 gross acres (about 66 net acres) at W204 N6793 Lannon Road and N64 W20780 Mill Road (tax key 76.9930.001 and 76.995) to create a 130‑lot single‑family development. The applicant said lots would range from just over 9,000 square feet to about 40,000 square feet, with a median lot size a little over 12,000 square feet and an estimated average new‑home sales price of about $640,000.

Why it mattered: Plan Commission members had recommended approval after multiple reviews; neighbors and trustees, however, focused their objections on traffic safety at the Mill Road–Lannon Road intersection, historic lot patterns and the precedent of smaller lots adjacent to larger‑lot neighborhoods.

Residents raised safety concerns about the road network and sight lines. Adam Keller, who lives directly south of the site, told the board the intersection “cannot be stated enough” as his top concern: “For years, our family has watched accident upon accident occur at this intersection,” Keller said, urging the village to work with Waukesha County to improve sight lines and safety. Several neighbors said the PRD would permit lot sizes substantially smaller than the surrounding neighborhoods’ typical 17,000‑square‑foot lots, and they urged trustees to protect rural character and wetlands.

The applicant and planning staff responded with design and market arguments: Brian Munson said the plan preserves approximately 25 percent of the gross land area as permanent open space, plus another roughly 8 percent of developed open space, and that the design intentionally preserved a mature woodlot in the site’s northwest corner. Amy (staff) explained that the PRD code permits minimum lots as small as 6,000 square feet and that the proposed plan complies with the village’s comprehensive‑plan designation for low‑density residential uses.

Developers said the smaller lot sizes were a market response that allows a range of price points and helps keep some new houses in an attainable price band for buyers who already live in the community. Ben Lang said the smallest model in the builder’s product lineup is about 1,400 square feet but that the developer’s average house size would be higher, near 2,000 square feet.

Trustees debated traffic mitigation and jurisdictional limits. Board members noted that Lannon Road is a Waukesha County road and that the county controls some remedies; staff and the developer said they had met with the county and that the county had authorized the shown access points. The plan includes acceleration and deceleration lanes at the entrances the village controls; trustees who opposed the rezoning said major corridor reconstruction — not part of the project — would be required to resolve safety concerns.

Board action: Trustee Tout moved to approve the ordinance rezoning the parcels and creating the Hilltop Grove PRD. The motion was seconded (second not specified in the public record) and, after discussion and a vote by show of hands, failed by a tally of 2 in favor and 5 opposed.

Ending: With the rezoning denied, the applicant may revise the proposal and return to the Plan Commission and board if they choose. The record shows the Plan Commission had previously reviewed the project multiple times and recommended approval at its October meeting.