The Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission approved several items related to the Cedar Ridge and Highland Estates subdivisions during its Monday meeting.
Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission approves items for two future subdivisions
Cedar Ridge
According to village documents, the Cedar Ridge subdivision will be generally located west of 47th Avenue at 113th Street and consist of 78 single-family lots.
Previously, plans for the subdivision had three fewer single-family lots, and was planned to be built in three phases. This has been reduced to two phases. Lots now range from 13,600 to 30,350 square feet.
Phase one will consist of constructing 36 lots. According to developers, the buildout for phase one will be roughly two to three years.
Phase two will consist of the final 42 lots and the addition of a walking trail adjacent to 47th Avenue.
Highland Estates
According to village documents, the Highland Estates subdivision will be generally located west of the existing Devonshire and Village Green Heights subdivisions between 93rd street and 104th street.
Consisting of 449 single-family lots, 87 two-family lots and 40 two-unit condominium buildings, Highland Estates will be Pleasant Prairie’s largest residential development in years.
Housing units in the planned subdivision total 703, down 32 units from the original proposals last summer which met resistance both from some village residents and Village Board trustees.
Construction will be done in five phases over the next 10 years according to village documents.
Phase one construction, planned for 2024-2026:Highland Estates developer Sanjay Kuttemperoor emphasized the need for more housing units in the village, pointing to previous reports that Kenosha County will be short 1,000 units for the next 10 years.
“The Village of Pleasant Prairie is a wonderful place to live and work,” Kuttemperoor said. “Unfortunately, there is a severe housing shortage, not only in the village but the United States.”
During the meeting, several residents raised their concerns with the developments, with one lamenting the transition of the village from rural to urban.
Others pointed to the developments’ high price points, with previous price estimates for single-family homes in Highland Estates ranging between $400,000 and $624,000, and the removal of wetlands for the projects.
Community Development Director Jean Werbie-Harris said Pleasant Prairie remains 55% rural and 45% urban.
“Our intent is not to develop every inch of Pleasant Prairie,” Werbie-Harris said. “There are many areas that are very large that have wetlands.”
For the concerns over cost, Kuttemperoor said the condos were the “entry-price point,” and home costs had increased across the country. The Highland Estates single-family homes would land within those higher price points.
“The median home price in the country is approaching $400,000,” Kuttemperoor said. “That’s middle class America.”
Werbie-Harris said the wetlands that the project would fill in are “low-quality, small pocket wetlands.” The developer will have to buy “wetland credits” and create wetland areas elsewhere, she said.
Read more in the Kenosha News.