The Waukesha Planning Commission debated, then tabled a referral from Alderman Kathleen Cummings Wednesday night regarding a request by Rosewood Village I Condo owners to have the city handle their trash pick-up.

The city in general does not pick up trash in planned unit developments (PUDs) unless the developments are one- or two-unit buildings that front on a public street. Such stipulations are regularly spelled out in PUD agreements. However, when the Rosewood II condos were developed no such agreement was ever filed, and according to City Planner Mike Hoeft, it is illegal to enforce the policy without such an agreement.

As a result city trash pick-up, which is contracted with Veolia Environmental for Rosewood II residents has been the norm, while Rosewood I residents pay for their own trash pick-up but also pay for the service on their tax bills.

"Staff has known about this error but done nothing about it," Cummings said. "So isn’t what we do by our inaction become our policy?

“The commission has the power to change the agreement (with Rosewood I). There is an inequity that exists, and it’s most apparent when the same neighbors that meet each other when they go out to get the mail don’t have the same level of services.”

While the commissioners agreed that inequity exists, the policies that exist citywide are currently under review by committee. The majority of the commissioners felt that once a citywide policy was established by the committee they could act.

“It’s not good policy to look at this in a case-by-case basis,” Commissioner Rebecca Roeker said. “We need to table a decision until the committee comes back with their
recommendations.”