Despite public outcry over components of the plan, a new indoor sports training facility operated by NX Level will be added to the Infinity Fields baseball and softball complex in the town of Waukesha.
The town board approved the 41,680-square-foot facility at its meeting on Thursday, March 12, after the owner of Five Diamonds Inc., which operates the 31.86 acre complex at W234 S355 Les Paul Parkway, made changes to the proposal previously presented to the town last month.
In February, the plan commission was alerted that the proposed building would violate town ordinance if it was built within 30 feet of wetlands. Filling or grading activities within the 30-foot offset area is also not allowed.
Five Diamonds Inc. owner Tom Kelenic, who opened the baseball complex in 2012, modified his plan, shifting the building to the north.
'The building is completely outside of the 30-foot buffer, and there will be no grading within the 30-foot buffer,' said Town Planner Jamie Rybarczyk.
Rybarczyk noted that, as a result of the revised plan, the field Catholic Memorial High School uses at Infinity Fields will have to be modified. That's in addition to the two baseball diamonds in the southeast corner of the site that will have to be removed to make room for the building, as proposed in the previous plan.
For and against
All but town of Waukesha Supervisor Larry Wolf voted to approve Kelenic's amended site plan and plan of operation. Earlier in the night, the plan commission unanimously recommended Kelenic's amended plans.
Stating that he doesn't feel Infinity Fields is a good location for the facility, Wolf said the building would be better suited in an industrial or business park, similar to NX Level's facility at W229 N1687 Westwood Drive in Pewaukee.
Supervisor Michael Doerr, however, said he felt the facility's park setting is a good fit.
The lengthy — and sometimes heated — public hearing during the planning commission meeting earlier in the evening saw many residents speak out against Kelenic's zoning change, which led to some voicing their opposition to the new indoor facility. A couple residents questioned 'what's in it for the town?'
While Doerr appreciated the concerns of those who spoke at the meeting, Doerr said the needs of all town residents should be considered, too.
'We need more business development in this town,' Doerr said. 'It is very, very good for the tax base. And unfortunately, most of the areas in the town are not conducive (to business development). ... I think that is an appropriate use of that land.
'Many parks have large structures in them — ice rinks, hockey rinks, you name it. While I'm not going to say that this is in nobody's line of sight, because it is, I think it's reasonable and minimal.'
Zoning changes
Before the town board approved amending Five Diamonds' site plan and plan of operation, the town board changed multiple ordinances — one relating to the town's 30-foot offset zoning code and another relating to a conservancy district line.
Kelenic made a request for one of the changes that impacted his complex, but because the town was making multiple zoning code changes, Chairman John Marek asked that Kelenic petition all of them so the town could hold just one public hearing.
Regarding Kelenic's request, the town will maintain its 30-foot buffer zone between a structure and a conservancy district line and no filling and/or grading activities within this 30-foot offset area is allowed.
But the town added that these rules are in place except when a road, driveway or related bridges are constructed and are necessary in order to provide access to a property or structure. Kelenic needed this ordinance changed so a driveway area, which would go through a couple thousand square feet of wetland, would be allowed at his complex.
The applicant must also receive the necessary approvals and permits from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Kelenic had already received these approvals.
Town Attorney John Macy said the ordinance changes allows the town to fall in line with the county's guidelines.
Macy also advised the town the new language is necessary because town residents who had previously put driveways through wetlands were most likely violating the existing ordinance.
Plan of operation
The new NX facility will house a turf zone training area, a sand pit, cardio section, weight area, basketball and volleyball area and physical therapy section for people of all ages. An outside multiuse field is also part of the plan.
Many collegiate and professional athletes train at NX Level's Pewaukee facility, including the likes of former Pewaukee High School and Wisconsin Badger star and current NFL player JJ Watt.
The town of Waukesha facility, which has been scaled down from close to 43,000 square feet to about 41,680 square feet, will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Additional landscaping has also been added around the building.