Town of Waukesha Board approves Dunkin' Donuts location on Sunset Drive

With the Town of Waukesha Board approving a Dunkin' Donuts at its meeting March 14, doughnut lovers in Waukesha will soon have another option.

The doughnut shop, part of a 5,040 square-foot, four-tenant retail building at S30 W24836 Sunset Drive, would also have a drive-through window based on confirmation and allowance from Waukesha County officials that there are not any restrictions on that property that prohibits one.

At the meeting and in the days after, Jim Radke, owner of Le Caffe Bistro, S30 W24896 Sunset Drive Suite 101, questioned the pending drive-through.

He contacted Jason Fruth, Waukesha County planning and zoning manager, who told him the Waukesha County rezone ordinance from 2004 contains a prohibition for restaurants with drive-throughs.

"There have been a couple of amendments to the zoning conditions of that site since that time, but I don’t see anything that removed that particular condition," Fruth said.

Fruth said he was going to pass this information to the Town Planner.

Town Chairwoman Angie E. Van Scyoc told Radke Town Planner Roger Dupler is responsible for gathering and reviewing the documents and that the Town Board is waiting on Dupler's review and that it can't move forward until fully reviewed and confirmed.

Van Scyoc told him that if there was a problem no 'reversal' would be necessary as the approval was conditioned on this item being reviewed and confirmed.

Dunkin' Donuts officials had said at an earlier Town Board meeting that they wouldn't build future shops without drive-throughs.

The approval of the shop came a month after Dunkin' Donuts representatives first brought its plan to the Town Board and Plan Commission. At that meeting, the Plan Commission and many residents had concerns on how Dunkin' Donuts would impact safety and traffic flow.

The new plan that was outlined in a letter by Dupler that said the alternates to the proposed access on to Prairie Avenue were determined by town staff to be allowable.

The proposed access is expected to alleviate traffic congestion at the Sunset Drive access immediately west of the site, Dupler said.

Dupler added in his letter that by providing another route for eastbound exiting traffic the existing congestion associated with the current unlighted and uncontrolled drive access will be reduced.

Dupler said landscape modifications requested by the Plan Commission have been incorporated into the drawings; a large landscape island west of the building has been incorporated and appropriate plantings plan have been added to screen the headlights of the drive through traffic and additional evergreen material has been added around the dumpster.

"We don't anticipate any problems with this new plan and welcome them to the town," Van Scyoc said. "I feel very confident that the developers along with our planners and engineering staff brought back a good plan and the concerns were addressed."

Van Scyoc said the property still has to be purchased so a date of when Dunkin' Donuts will open is to be determined

"We're completing the revitalization of commercial space in the Town of Waukesha, so that's a positive," Van Scyoc said.

This is the latest Dunkin' Donuts to open in the area. One opened at 2450 N. Grandview Blvd. last fall. Dunkin' Donuts representatives said the new shop in the town is the latest in an expansion in southeastern Wisconsin.

Budget amendments

In other town news, Van Scyoc's hope of amending the town's 2012 budget failed when it did not reach the four necessary votes.

The outcome was the same as the last meeting when Town Supervisors Brian Fischer and Everett German voted against the budget amendments.

Van Scyoc said she wasn't surprised the supervisors didn't change their vote. But she was disappointed, nonetheless.

"I did not anticipate them to," she said. "But other amendments such as capital outlay, there was no reason not to. It has nothing to with the process or procedure.

"It's a delaying tactic and totally inappropriate."

A budget amendment, Van Scyoc said, is done to identify and formalize where the town was under and over in its budget and to address within the document any needed changes.

Amending it would have allowed them to close the books on the 2012 budget as well as carry over for services in 2013. With the town's net total it under spent in 2012 being $250,651 and the balance to future capital outlay at $126,977, the net total to move to the 2013 budget would have been $123,674.

"At this point we don't have the ability to follow up with the capital improvement plan for specific purchases," Van Scyoc said. "At this point the money is in limbo."

Van Scyoc said the town was ahead of schedule on its audit and that the supervisors have no reason to "delay" the process. She said the town will now consult with its auditors.

The two supervisors had concerns in the amount of money ($104,000) it did not budget for in legal fees in 2012. Fischer also said doing a budget amendment at this time is too late in the process and that a budget is a "before the fact plan."

"We didn't anticipate those types of dollars spent (with the Town of Brookfield), but we had a battle to secure our borders," Van Scyoc said, while saying that Fischer's reasoning is misguided.