Waukesha City Council Rejects Panda Express Developer's $3 Million Damages Claim

WAUKESHA -- The Waukesha City Council unanimously voted to disallow a $3 million damage claim filed against the city by the developers who planned a strip mall for the former Gasthaus Site.

The damage claim, came after the Waukesha Plan Commission denied a developer's plans to redevelop the former Weissgerber's Gasthaus site into a strip mall and a Panda Express restaurant in July.

Now that developer, CFT NV Developments out of Nevada, is suing the city for $3 million in damages stemming from the denied claim.

The developer now has six months to decide whether to formally sue the city.

Waukesha Said No

About two weeks after iconic Waukesha-area restaurant Weissgerber's Gasthaus closed its doors this summer, plans to raze the building and build a strip mall in its place were denied approval by the Waukesha Plan Commission .

HC Klover Architects reportedly worked with city officials over the previous few months to make adjustments to the site plan after officials voiced their objections, including:

• two drive-thrus
• traffic density
• impact to local business
• parking spaces

After months of adjustments and preliminary design work had been completed, the plans were voted down Wednesday evening by Waukesha’s Plan Commission.

In the end, the council cited ongoing traffic concerns at the corner of Silvernail Road and Grandview Blvd. as one of the main reasons to nix the project.

Developer Strikes Back

In a document dated Oct. 11, CFT claims that,"In denying the Site Plan Application, the Plan Commission explicitly acknowledged that the traffic problem exists at that corner and that it needs to be solved. The proposed development does not increase or cause additional impacts to the traffic."

Waukesha's Reaction

In a memo to the Common Council from City Attorney Brian Running dated Oct. 12, Mr. Running informs the council that "presently, appeals are underway of the denial. In addition to the appeals, CFT has now filed a notice of claim against the City, claiming that the City has committed a “taking” of private property for which compensation must be paid. The amount of compensation is alleged to be
$3,000,000."

Mr. Running summarizes the claim as follows, "In a nutshell, [the claim] says that because the Plan Commission denied the development on the grounds of traffic issues, and because any development of the property will involve similar traffic issues, the Plan Commission has effectively denied any development of the property and rendered it worthless.

They allege that this amounts to a taking, or an inverse condemnation , and that the City must compensate them for the loss of value."

The City Attorney's opinion is that the claim is without merit and is recommending to disallow the claim among other measures.

Image submitted to Waukesha Plan Commission via HC Klover Architects