Homeowners seek to de-annex from Sheboygan
High property taxes and a lack of city services is the driving force behind the effort
SHEBOYGAN — A couple is making an unusual request, they want to leave the City of Sheboygan and have their properties annexed into the Town of Sheboygan.
Terri Wacha and her husband Scott Wacha own four properties on Petra Lane near North 37th Street and Erie Avenue. “I have been paying significant taxes to the City of Sheboygan,” she explained during a Town Board meeting on Tuesday afternoon. “I do not want to be part of the City of Sheboygan anymore, I pay insane taxes.”
The couple will need to submit a detachment request to the City of Sheboygan. Ultimately, the 10-member Common Council will need to approve it in order for the properties to be annexed into the Town of Sheboygan. While the Town Board supports the request from the Wachas, they will likely hit a roadblock with the city. “It is very very rare for the city, if ever, to allow property be detached and then moved back to the town,” said Town Attorney Michael Bauer. “It’s even more rare for the city to allow a town resident to receive city water.”
Last year, the couple paid just over $10,000 in property taxes to the city for the homes on 2-acres of land. “ I do not get any services from the city,” Wacha explained. In 2023, $14,695 was paid in taxes. Since 2019, a total of $85,742 was collected. That means on average, the four homes have generated $14,290 annually in property taxes.
Petra Lane is a private road owned by the Wachas. It is not a city street or town road. As such, the road is not plowed by the city in the winter and residents have to push their trash bins to Erie Avenue. The road was recently repaved, an improvement paid entirely by the couple. While the road and four homes are located within the city limits, the majority of the homes located west of Hobby Lobby and Meijer are actually in the Town of Sheboygan. Out of 150 properties in the Greendale Park Subdivision, just 13 of them are in the city. The rest are town residents or businesses.
A planned retirement community
In 1962, Horst A. Ahnert purchased the property and in 1983, began planning what he called Ahnert’s Retirement Community. The private road is named after his daughter, Petra Ahnert, who now lives in Milwaukee. He had plans to build five, two-unit buildings on the property. The land was annexed by the City of Sheboygan in March 1985 from the Town of Sheboygan.
In 1994, an advertisement for a 2-bedroom condo touted Petra Lane as a private street and did not allow pets or smoking. Terri Wacha acquired three of the homes from uncle, Dan C. Wilson. She and her husband purchased Ahnert’s original 1,376-square-foot home in 2023 for $162,500. They would like to build another home on the property but only if they are successful in being annexed into the town.
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