According to GM Today "The Brookfield City Council will consider the revised plan and method of operation and conditional use application for the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin to construct a new religious building at 3625 N. Calhoun Road. The new building would also have living accommodations associated with the religious institution.
The Common Council meeting is at 7:45 p.m. today in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 2000 N. Calhoun Road.
The new lot will be 441,841 square feet in area. The plans are to construct a new larger gurdwara just west of the current building. Two existing parcels will be combined together, creating one large parcel. According to meeting documents, the new building will have more defining characteristics of a Sikh gurdwara. It will have a brick veneer exterior, with porcelain tileclad accent elements for a marble appearance, and various gumbad (dome) roofs and marble-clad porcelain tile octagon towers on the exterior. A covered porte-cochere entrance will be at the main entrance. The two-story building will have a main Diwan hall (religious hall) for 250 members. Accessory rooms include classrooms for religious teachings, a library, administrative offices, meeting rooms, four sleeping quarter units for permanent and visiting religious leaders, and a dining hall with a full commercial kitchen.
The new, larger facility will offer room for expansion. Births, deaths, and weddings will be observed regularly as well as several special religious gatherings throughout the year.
The current location at 3675 N. Calhoun Road has been used for more than 26 years.
The existing building will be razed and landscaped over. The current parking lot will be reconfigured and repaved to handle nearly 140 total parking stalls. A new, detached, four-car garage will be built to house maintenance equipment and storage as well as a new wet stormwater pond.
On Aug. 12 the city held its Plan Commission meeting where the panel recommended approval of the revised plan and method of operation and conditional use application.
Resident Paul Leow submitted a letter which supported the building and said he was pleased with the layout of the design and placement of buildings on the lot.
Resident Sarah Hyde said she believes it’s too close to a neighboring property. "I don’t know why the old one was changed to be moved toward west instead of south. But it’s literally 25 feet from our neighbor across the street. I just think it’s too close to Saint James. That’s basically it in a nutshell because there’s so much other space," Hyde said.
Resident Susan Bacciocco said the proposed building would be in her backyard. "With the domes on top, you’re at what 60 feet and the land’s already up higher. The entire backyard of my house is now going to be staring at this building. Out every single window in my house, I’m going to be staring at this building. You’re building a road right across the back of my yard," she said.
Alderman Rick Owen was in favor of the proposal and said based on residents’ feedback it was modified to be 10 feet lower based on where it was.
"We could go through all the reasons why we can’t really deal with a lot of other issues as it relates to conditional uses like this. We certainly do have some other areas within the city of Brookfield that have conditional uses on it that aren’t in close proximity to residential areas. And I can appreciate the concerns that residents bring up. But, as I, uh, I think I initially indicated and I will indicate again, I was in support of this and remain in support of this particular plan," Owen said.
Alderman Mike Hallquist also was in support of the proposal.
"We got mixed feedback about the first orientation after people liked it, but there’s some nearby residents who didn’t appreciate that. And I certainly understand some folks may not appreciate this one as well. I did want to point out that in terms of when I looked at, like, the floor area ratio, and the lot coverage and the landscape area ratio, there could have been a much larger building, a lot more impervious surfaces, a lot less landscaping that could have been proposed for this site. And that would have been totally acceptable and fine. But I think this is a good-looking building. I certainly support it. I think it’s a definite nice improvement to the existing facility that’s been there for some time. So, I’m glad that, you know, they’ll remain in Brookfield," Hallquist said. Alderman Gary Mahkorn explained that the reason why there wasn’t a huge discussion is because the proposal has been through several iterations.
"The city, along with the applicants, have worked closely together trying to come up with a reasonable solution, one that most people are agreeable with. And, we’ve all sat here in the history of even when the buildings got moved and everything," he said.
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