Resolution 080422 proposed the building of an 52-unit assisted living facility at 2195 W. State St. which will serve elderly low income individuals.  This project faced some opposition at City Plan Commission and the same resident appeared before this committee.  An additional neighbor spoke in opposition and both residents’ argument revolved around saving one tree and preserving “historic” green space.  Alderman Bauman responding to this criticism by explaining that “frankly i thought this was a very positive development” and went on to make it very clear that the hill is not recognized as “historic”.  It should also be pointed out that this green space is in private hands and that the current zoning regulations would stop the owner from removing the trees.  Despite the neighbors’ complaints this resolution was approved and will go before the Common Council.

Resolution 080195 is another resolution of interest because it proposed a variety of changes to City of Milwaukee storm water management regulations.  The overriding theme of this resolution was to discourage the construction of non-permeable surfaces.  These non-permeable surfaces increase the water flow into the sewer system and increase water pollution by reducing rain water’s ability to enter the ground soil for natural filtration.  This resolution encourages this reduction by allowing for narrower streets and reconfigured streets that include more permeable features.  Additionally it updates parking requirements to encourage less non-permeable surfaces from being developed.  This resolution was approved and will go before the Common Council.

Resolution 080271 would authorize the land sale of nineteen City of Milwaukee (RACM) properties to create three mixed-use developments within the Haymarket Square neighborhood. These three development would consist of the Sixth Street Market, Vineyard Place, and Walnut Hill. Sixth Street Market will contain an approximately 5,000 square foot food and convenience market. Vineyard Place will be a two-story building consisting of five live-work condominiums. Walnut Hill will be a four-story mixed-use building with first floor retail and on upper floors a mixture of office and residential units. Although the purchase prices was some $100,000 under the original asking price set in the City of Milwaukee’s Request for Proposal (RFP) this project is actually the combination of two separate RFP responders so it appears to be a win-win situation for the City of Milwaukee and all interested parties. Further this project is targeting a 30% Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE) goal which is higher than the City of Milwaukee’s guidelines for similar projects that utilize public financing. This resolution was approved by the committee and will now go before the full Common Council.

Alderman Zielinski brought forward resolution 051036 at the request of the majority of property owners in the area to create a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone in Bay View along South Shore Drive. The intent of the overlay zone is to preserve the neighborhood in its current state which this resolution will achieve but it does appear to have significant impacts on both development and environmental issues. Impacts of this resolution include the prevention of new buildings higher than forty feet, prevention of flat roofs which may make developing green roofs more difficult and require a Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) request, and has limited the maximum lot coverage to 25% of the parcel which will severely limit density. This resolution was approved by the committee and will now go before the full Common Council.

Movement may finally be occurring towards completion of the Marine Terminal Loft’s Riverwal. Resolution 080267 updated the agreement with the City of Milwaukee regarding the portion that would connect to MIAD. Further it was pointed out that the Mandel Group has received a “concrete” or legitimate bid regarding construction costs which should allow the project to move forward. This resolution was approved by the committee and will now go before the full Common Council.

Resolution 080195 which relates to storm water management regulations and that had been refered to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee after approval at the Public Works Committee was held to the call of the chair with no discussion.

Resolution 080183 was brought forward to authorize a land sale of approximately 7.8 acres in the Menomonee Valley to Charter Wire for their future relocation. Charter Wire which has been located in the Third Ward for the past seventy-two years made the decision to move to the Menomonee Valley because their lease expires in 2009 and the Menomonee Valley offers a better opportunity for expansion. Charter Wire intends to build a 160,000 square feet facility that could grow to over 200,000 square feet. Not only does this re-location further the rebirth of the Menomonee Valley but it opens up a significant area of the Third Ward to re-development. This resolution was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.

Although, this Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee meeting had a light schedule it did have one item of significance. Resolution 071292 and resolution 071181 made up the proposal for the re-zoning and sale of the city owned land located at the intersection of South Fifth Court and West Rosedale Avenue. This project which is better known as Empowerment Village pitted members in support of affordable housing versus environmental groups over a piece of city owned land. The environmental groups challenged the city’s right to sell the land and argued that during the Southeast Side Planning process this land had always been planned as a green space that would include a bike trail along the Kinnickinnic River. Alderman Murphy pointed out that “we have to balance the needs”. But despite his words and Cardinal Capital’s efforts to work with the environmental groups to alleviate their concerns by decreasing the size of the building, by paying for the bike trail to be built and by putting a conservation easement in place to protect much of the land as open space a compromise couldn’t be found. The committee voted to place on file these resolutions essentially denying this project from moving forward.

The site location is pictured below via Google Maps Street View.

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The 2008-2012 Common Council committee appointments were announced this week and it appears Common Council President Willie Hines, Jr. put together a qualified group to sit on the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.

• Alderman James Witkowiak, Chair
• Alderman Willie Wade, V-C
• Alderman Michael Murphy
• Alderman Robert Bauman
• Alderman T. Anthony Zielinski

The biggest change comes at the top of the committee where Alderman Witkowiak will be replacing out going Alderman D’Amato as the committee chairman. Alderman Witkowiak is a good choice for this role because the 5th Ward is starting to take off and the new Chairman will play a large role in shaping future development in the district. Additionally he has extensive experience working on neighborhood issues, from his time as Chairman of the License Committee, that should translate well to ZND. This ability to work with neighborhoods will be critical to the success of the committee due to the consistent need to work on neighborhood complaints surrounding development projects.

Returning members Alderman Wade, Alderman Murphy, and Alderman Bauman have not necessarily always agreed on issues but generally work well together and come at an issue with solid arguments. Alderman Wade has shown he understand the value of density and of growing the city through development. Alderman Murphy’s knowledge of passed Common Council actions and his work on water related issues makes him a vital member of this committee. As the City of Milwaukee moves forward on mass transit efforts such as the KRM project, BRT, or the downtown streetcar effort Alderman Bauman’s history with mass transit issues should also be invaluable. Although Alderman Zielinski is new to ZND he brings a background in environmental efforts that could lead the committee to explore more green based zoning initiatives. As a group it will be interesting to watch their handling of projects as they have the characteristics to continue the steady march of redevelopment the City of Milwaukee has seen in recent years.

Resolution 071392 would authorize $1.25 million of additional funding from Tax Incremental District #48 for development of a riverwalk and associated public improvements located at 202 West Juneau Ave. $858,042 of the funding will go towards construction of a riverwalk, dock wall, public boat slip and public plaza with pedestrian access.   This work is part of the $42 million Aloft development and should pay off the TIF in seven years. The remaining portion of $278,160 will be used to purchase the right of way to construct the extension of Ogden St. and Market St. This resolution was approved by the committee and will now go before the full Common Council.

Resolution 071500 would change the zoning for the properties located at 700 East Kibourn Ave. and 711 East Kibourn Ave. to General Planned Development and would specify the maximum height and density of the project. New Land Enterprises intends to build two mixed-use buildings with up to 20-stories, 230 residential units each and approximately 4000 square feet of retail space. The combined value of this project would not only add an estimated $120 million to the city tax base but would not utilize any city financing.

A few neighboring business owners spoke in opposition to this project focusing their complaints mainly around height, density and potential parking issues. Specifically Margaret Gintoft, of Therapies East Associates, spoke at length repeatedly asking some form of the question “do you really want to have a high-rise on every corner, dwarfing these little buildings in between”? The land’s current zoning has no height limitation and as Vanessa Koster, from the Department of City Development, indicated “if he developed it under the current zoning parameters he could come in off the street and pull his permits and we would have no control over the design of the building, the materials, the location of the parking, and driveway access, so this gives us control over the design”. Although this change in zoning allows for more density than the current zoning, it also allows the City of Milwaukee input into the development process and now limits the building’s height. During the discussion Alderman D’Amato responded to Margaret Gintoft’s question when he said “you spoke earlier about does the city want high-rises and do we want a high-density city. And I think the answer in some areas. In some areas the answer is yes”. This resolution was approved by the committee and will now go before the full Common Council.

Resolution 071392 was likely to be very controversial given its intent to authorize additional funding for Tax Incremental District No. 48 (Park East) which would support the development of a Riverwalk section along the proposed Aloft site. Resolutions related to TIF financing often spark vigorous debate on how the funding should be allocated, what additionally requirements will be asked of the developer, and does this project truly require assistance. This resolution was no different as members of the Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition were present and looking to push this development project to be required to pay prevailing wages and additional requirements similar to the community benefits agreements they have pushed in the past. The debate will wait until next month as this item was held to allow Committee members time to obtain additional information about the proposal.

Another contentious resolution, 070548, proposed allowing electronic changeable billboards to change advertisements every eight seconds. Alderman Bauman and Alderman Murphy expressed concerns over the possibility of driver distraction and light pollution that this change may cause. Although no citizens appeared to speak in opposition to this resolution Alderman Murphy pointed out “the media has for whatever reason doesn’t cover city government like they used to” indicating that with wider coverage he felt citizens would be opposed to this resolution. In the end it passed on a narrow three to two vote with both Alderman Bauman and Alderman Murphy opposing the resolution.

As there were only two items on the agenda this was one of the quickest Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee meetings in quite some time. Resolution 071128 proposed a change in zoning from two-family residential to local business which would allow PyraMax Bank to construct a driveway to access new drive-thru banking facilities. This resolution had been held during an earlier ZND meeting because for PyraMax Bank to build the driveway it requires the demolition of a residential property which is generally not encouraged by the Department of City Development. During the meeting Alderman Bauman pointed this out saying “this is another case of substituting an automobile use from a residential use” and went on to indicate he felt projects like this have hurt the City of Milwaukee in the past. Despite these concerns the Committee approved the resolution in a large part due to local Alderman Witkowiak support of the resolution.

Resolution 071339 consolidated property at 2040 W. Wisconsin Ave. and 2027 W. Wells St. into one parcel to allow for the expansion of 2040 Lofts. The expansion of 2040 Lofts shows that there is a continuing demand for student housing in downtown Milwaukee and that developers are stepping in to fill this need.

Substitute resolution 071408 approved a Riverwalk Development Agreement for construction along the Brewers Point Apartments. Allison Rozek from the Department of City Development pointed out that this particular portion of the Riverwalk has become known as the “the missing link” as its development has become stalled for years. With recent litigation behind the City and this new agreement in place it appears “the missing link” may be built in the near future.

The resolution known Downer Avenue Redevelopment Phase II approved a change in zoning from General Planned Development to Detailed Planned Development which further specifies the project. The hotel and condominium buildings received little to no opposition during this hearing and despite the controversy over this project only three members of the public appeared to testify. Their concerns focused around the addition and renovation of the Mulkhern building. Specifically where the trash would be picked up and that there would no longer have parking available for them on the second floor. Architect Matt Rinka made a comment about the poor condition of Mulkhern building, explaining that his engineers told him that “if this was not historic they would of recommended tearing it down”. With this building’s apparent poor condition its clear this building is need of redevelopment and that with a new structure around the corner those concerns should for the most part be alleviated.

This meeting of the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee was quite unusual in that it was held in response to the court case Dawn McCarthy vs. The City of Milwaukee City. The case revolves around the City’s handling of a minor modification to the Detail Planned Development known has Downer Avenue Redevelopment Phase I. The court ruled that there were possible open meetings violations during some Historic Preservation Commission subcommittee meetings so to insure all information was publicly heard the judge ordered this meeting to be held. It is important to note the judge did not stop construction and didn’t expect the City to vote on the resolution in question. Peter Kovac, one of the Plaintiffs in the case, made comments indicating the City had re-opened the issue prompting Alderman D’Amato to respond by saying “you seemed to of re-opened the whole issue”. Alderman Bauman was heard saying “let him go on for two hours” expressing his frustration with the repetitive testimony and the proceeds. Despite Alderman Murphy’s concern over setting a precedent by passing a resolution in response to the direction of the court, the Committee unanimously approved resolution 071365 reasserting the previously passed resolution.