Town of Brookfield - Waukesha County Circuit Judge Donald J. Hassin Jr. has ordered a halt to a planned May 15 state public hearing on whether the Town of Brookfield should incorporate as a village so the parties can participate in mediation.
The order, issued Thursday, was sought by the Town of Brookfield with agreement from attorneys for the City of Brookfield, City of Waukesha and Village of Sussex. The cities and village had earlier objected to the Town of Brookfield's incorporation petition being filed with the state Incorporation Review Board, but Hassin rejected their objections.
The review board had scheduled the May 15 hearing from 1 to 7 p.m., but the judge's stay postpones that until at least June 30.
According to the order, the Cities of Brookfield and Waukesha as well as the Village of Sussex are to submit their objections in writing to the proposed incorporation. An initial mediation session will be held before Judge Patrick Snyder on May 30. During that session, the parties are expected to identify proposed solutions that would satisfy their objections, the order says.
Further mediation could occur June 21 and 28.
The Town of Brookfield has also invited the Town of Waukesha to participate in the mediation process, even though Hassin dismissed it as a party to the lawsuit because it failed to meet a court deadline for submitting necessary documentation that the Town Board had authorized its intervention.
Meanwhile, the Town of Waukesha has filed an appeal of Hassin's ruling dismissing it from the case and permitting the incorporation petition to be filed with the state.
The proposed incorporation area totals 4.2 square miles and includes land centered near Goerkes Corners, where I-94 and Highway 18 meet. The Goerkes Corners site is where Marcus Corp. plans to develop The Corners residential and retail development, anchored by a Von Maur department store.
It also includes 288 acres of Town of Waukesha land off Highways 164 and 59, including the site of the former Walmart.
The Waukesha Town Board objects to the inclusion.
Attempts by the Town of Brookfield in 1999 and 2001 to incorporate as a village failed, primarily because the proposed area didn't meet the size requirement and because the town was divided into several detached tracts.