Urban Milwaukee’s Upcoming Events & Meetings Calendar should help you keep up to date on important events effecting our neighborhoods, the City of Milwaukee, and our region.

August 11, 2009

3rd District Town Hall Meeting

August 11, 2009 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Come talk to Alderman Kovac about 2010 budget revenue and cost cutting ideas, past and future legislation, new police districts and any other issues that interest you.Tamarack School
1150 E. Brady St.

August 12, 2009

Milwaukee Public Library Public Meeting

August 12, 2009 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm

At this open house, attendees can come and go as they please to study the options presented by library staffers on poster boards and handouts and they may speak with Library Board trustees and staff members to offer suggestions or have questions answered. “The libraries in our city are an essential part of who we [...]

3rd District Town Hall Meeting

August 12, 2009 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Come talk to Alderman Kovac about 2010 budget revenue and cost cutting ideas, past and future legislation, new police districts and any other issues that interest you.Plymouth Church
2717 E. Hampshire Ave.

At this open house, attendees can come and go as they please to study the options presented by library staffers on poster boards and handouts and they may speak with Library Board trustees and staff members to offer suggestions or have questions answered. “The libraries in our city are an essential part of who we are and they provide innumerable services. In a highly technological world and tight budget times, we must investigate new, progressive ways of providing those services and the public should be involved in this process,” Ald. Kovac said. “I encourage everyone to attend.”

Milwaukee Public Library Director Paula Keily and Ald. Kovac welcome all residents to participate in this discussion.

Atkinson Library
1960 W. Atkinson Ave.

Come talk to Alderman Kovac about 2010 budget revenue and cost cutting ideas, past and future legislation, new police districts and any other issues that interest you.

Plymouth Church
2717 E. Hampshire Ave.

Flyer

Come talk to Alderman Kovac about 2010 budget revenue and cost cutting ideas, past and future legislation, new police districts and any other issues that interest you.

Tamarack School
1150 E. Brady St.

Flyer

Cambridge Commons

Cambridge Commons

Cambridge Commons

Cambridge Commons

Cambridge Commons

An important part of building a more bicycle friendly city, and for that matter state, is to update Wisconsin’s biking laws so that they in encourage more ridership instead of discouraging it.  For example, in June 2009 Governor Doyle signed a new “anti-dooring” law that corrected existing regulation which required bicyclist to ride three feet away from parked cars.  This law actually protected drivers who opened their doors into bike lanes or streets without looking, which often results in injured bicyclists.  In fact, in August 2008 a bicyclist in Madison received a $10 fine after being doored so badly the rider ended up in the hospital.  The new law fines drivers $40 if they strike a bicyclist with the car door, and removes the three feet requirement.  This change is just one example of the many small steps forward needed towards encouraging more biking.

There are of course other tweaks to current laws that could encourage more ridership, or at the very least stop discouraging it, while not impacting safety.  In Idaho there is what is known as the “Idaho Stop” law.  In short it allows for bicyclists to consider Stop signs as Yield signs.  It’s not to say that new riders will instantly appear on the streets because of this change, clearly many riders already utilize this technique, but the current law places a stigma and legal detriment on these riders for what is essential a safe and practical way to ride.  This animation by Spencer Boomhower explains the reasons why this update to our laws helps bicyclists, and why it won’t impact safety.  What do you think?

Bicycles, Rolling Stops, and the Idaho Stop from Spencer Boomhower on Vimeo.

You are Invited to a Juneau Park Friends Birthday Celebration!

Join members of our organization and neighbors of Juneau Park to celebrate Solomon Juneau’s Birthday

Sunday, August 9, 2009
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Meet “Solomon” and Learn About his Historical Impact on Milwaukee

Cake, Provided by Metro Market & East Pointe Pick‘n Save, will be Served Next to Solomon Juneau’s Statue

Milwaukee Talkie, the blog of the Public Policy Forum, examined the urban retail market and how to best utilize the hiring of Deanna Inniss as a business recruiter by BID #21, Milwaukee’s Downtown Business Improvement District.  They noted that one large thing wasn’t on her task list, the inside of Grand Avenue Mall.

Looking at Minneapolis, Melissa Kovach, observes that even with a light-rail line, nearby downtown sporting events, and anchor tenants, the urban mall, Block E, still has a vacancy rate equivelant to Grand Avenue’s (30%).

The way to a healthy urban retail environment proposed by the Public Policy Forum is to focus on unique, indepdent retailers at the street-level.  Words of wisdom that sound similar to what we concluded when we explored the idea of rebuilding the Shops of Grand Avenue.

It’s great to see more and more people coming around to the idea that an urban shopping center that is simply a clone of the suburbs will fail.

What survives?  Look at the Delmar Loop in St. Louis.  An urban neighborhood served by a light-rail line, with good urban, street-level design.  Every time I visit the area, it seems to grow bigger and healthier.

What do we have to look at locally? The Third Ward.  No fixed transit connections, but it is served by two bus lines.  Most importantly though is the extensive network of street-level retail establishments with offices and condos above.  Good urban design grows upon itself, unlike a stationary mall.  This is no more evident than in the growth of the Fifth Ward where retail, offices, and condos are spilling over from the Third Ward.  The Fifth Ward, officially known as Walker’s Pointer is located just south of the Third Ward, and has seen projects like South Water Works spring up over the past year, and now Riviana appears to be moving forward again even in a down economy.

There is also the East Side concept of dorm-oriented development that appears to be taking hold.

By bringing in Deanna Inniss as a recruiter and taking the inside of Grand Avenue off of her plate, she is poised to build off the success of the Third Ward and spread that unique urban shopping experience to the rest of downtown. Godspeed to Deanna, and kudos to BID #21 for bringing her in and not saddling her baggage of bad ideas past.

Municipalities large and small utilize Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) as a tool to encourage economic development within their borders.  It allows future property tax revenues, from new construction, to act as equity in project.  This arrangement is used to cover a gap in the projects financing, or more commonly to fund public improvements related to the new development.

A debate that comes up often within City Hall is just how much TIF is enough, and should more projects receive TIF funding.  Recent examples of this debate involved RSC & Associates’ Park East Square proposal, Gatehouse Capital’s Palomar proposal, and more recently New Land Enterprises’ proposal for the corner of Kilbourn Avenue and Van Buren St.  A recent report, Too Much or Not Enough? A Statistical Analysis of Tax Incremental Financing in Wisconsin, by John Kovari of the Public Policy Forum, helps shed light on the the question.  A key finding from the report was that on average across the state “for every $1 increase of TIF value, total property value is estimated to increase by $6.”  This might at first glance indicate that all municipalities should increase their utilization of TIF, but the report also indicated that there is a point of optimal return that once crossed detracts from property values.

In the City of Milwaukee’s case the report indicates that by increasing TIF use the city could see a significant long run increase to the tax base.  At first blush this may lead people to believe all of the formerly mentioned projects should have received TIF funds, but the report doesn’t actually weigh in on specific projects, or how to increase TIF use.  It shows that TIF use should be utilized to a larger extent by larger municipalities, but it certainly doesn’t argue against proper due diligence.

Assuming it is true that the City of Milwaukee could reap long term economic benefits by expanding TIF use, the next question is really “How?”  Clearly, the current practice has been practical, and safe, as the vast majority of TIF projects have performed well, some of them so well they have been paid back early, so setting aside the proper checks and balances currently in place is not necessarily the desirable route to take.

What the City of Milwaukee could do to increase TIF use is to become more proactive instead of reactive towards development.  Meaning, prior to a developer coming to the city for funding of a specific project, the city could create TIF districts that are associated with the catalytic projects that have been laid out in the area plans.  By tying expanded funding to community proposed projects these proposal could potentially receive quicker approvals, and in turn become realities in shorter time frames.  There are cases of the city making proactive use of TIF such as in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor, the RiverWalk system, Mitchell Street, and other projects, but this proactive method could be greatly expanded.  Further, the City of Milwaukee could promote TIF use for affordable apartments in targeted neighborhoods to insure the ability to live, work, and play throughout all our city’s great neighborhoods.

By expanding TIF use, while at the same time tying its expanded use to proactive catalytic projects, the City of Milwaukee could grow its tax base and improve its neighborhoods.