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Plan commission recommends village board approve conditional use for new Jackson Elementary School

October 17, 2025 | Village of Jackson, Washington County, Wisconsin


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Plan commission recommends village board approve conditional use for new Jackson Elementary School
The Village of Jackson Plan Commission on Oct. 16, 2025 recommended that the Village Board approve a conditional use permit and site plan for a new Jackson Elementary School at W 204 N 16700 Jackson Drive, voting in favor with one abstention.

The recommendation covers the 477-student design and associated site improvements, subject to conditions and a development agreement that spells out which infrastructure the school district will construct and what the village will accept and maintain.

The school district’s superintendent, Jen Wimmer, introduced project designers and said the building is designed for 477 students and separates bus and parent traffic for safety. “We have designed a, 477 student capacity elementary school,” Katie Lecourt, the lead architect, said while reviewing the site plan. The plan calls for a two-lane parent drop-off drive accommodating about 60 queued cars, a visitor lot at the northwest corner, a staff lot and a bus entry on Spruce Street. The design includes a fenced courtyard for secure outdoor play, a south green play area, and a mix of one- and two-story building masses.

Civil plans presented by Nick Tennyson of Kapoor show 99 regular parking stalls plus 80 overflow stalls in the asphalt play area south of the building and three bioretention basins to handle stormwater flows. Tennyson said the design loops a public water main around the south of the building and ties the building sanitary sewer to existing main in Spruce Street. Stormwater from the site is routed to the wetland north of the property, the civil representative said.

Commissioners and staff spent significant time on the draft development agreement, which plan commission staff summarized as the document that allocates responsibilities and sets inspection, security and acceptance protocols for infrastructure to be dedicated to the village. “A conditional use permit in and of itself isn't really the best tool on its own to accomplish what we're trying to accomplish because ... the village will do some things, the district will do some things,” Daniela (staff member) said, describing why a development agreement is included as a condition of the permit. The agreement, as presented, requires financial security to ensure completion, a one-year warranty period on infrastructure dedicated to the village, and standard indemnification and insurance protections.

Traffic and pedestrian elements are a major focus. The draft agreement and plans include: continental-style pavement markings on the north and east legs of Jackson Drive and Hickory Lane; extension of the northbound left‑turn lane at Jackson Drive and Highway 60 (the district recommended extending pavement markings 60 to 100 feet); and a southbound left‑turn lane into the new entrance of about 150 feet. The village will submit some changes to the state Department of Transportation where required, and the district agreed to reimburse the village for certain pavement-marking costs referenced in the existing reimbursement agreement between the village and the district.

Commissioners flagged several unresolved items that do not lie directly adjacent to the school property: upgrading older-style curb ramps and tactile warning fields to ADA‑compliant designs at nearby intersections and adding an additional crosswalk the village board originally proposed on the south leg of Jackson Drive at Hickory Lane. The district’s representative said the curb-ramp upgrades are “down the street from that” and raised concern about a district obligation to fund work not adjacent to the school. Plan commission staff noted the village may require exactions for impacts driven by the project but that upgrades are required only when concrete is replaced or an intersection is improved; repainting and pavement-marking upgrades alone would not obligate ADA reconstruction under current practice.

Emergency access and operations were also discussed. The plan includes a gated, fob- or clicker-access emergency lane that will give the fire department keyed access and could be configured to allow police and public works access. District representatives said they will coordinate with emergency services on access control.

The motion to recommend village board approval of the conditional use and proposed site plan was made by Commissioner Heckendorf and seconded by Commissioner Van Epperen. The commission voted in favor; one participant (Daniela, staff member) recorded an abstention. Commissioners noted the item will return to the Village Board at a special meeting for final action.

The commission also heard that certain highlighted items in the development agreement — notably who pays for ADA curb-ramp upgrades at nearby intersections and the village board’s requested additional crosswalk — remain to be decided by the village board and the district before final sign-off. Those highlights will be revisited at the village board meeting tied to final approval.

The village staff and district representatives said they will produce a final set of development-agreement exhibits (site, grading, utility, traffic control, erosion control and landscaping plans) for inspections and acceptance once construction documents are finalized. The plan commission noted the agreement will require inspection protocols, acceptance criteria, and financial security to protect the village if the work is not completed.

Next steps: plan commission recommendation will be forwarded to the Village Board for consideration at a special meeting. If approved by the Village Board, the development agreement and final plans will govern construction, inspections, dedication of public infrastructure and post-construction maintenance obligations.

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Scribe from Workplace AI
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