Sas-Pérez Appointed to City Plan Commission

Mayor Tom Barrett has nominated Layton Boulevard West Neighbors Executive Director Brianna Sas-Pérez to serve on the City Plan Commission.

Sas-Pérez would replace former Department of Neighborhood Services head Preston Cole. Governor Tony Evers appointed Cole to lead the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources earlier this year.

The non-profit Layton Boulevard West Neighbors, founded in 1995 by the School Sisters of Francis, focuses on neighborhood improvement in the Silver City, Burnham Park and Layton Park neighborhoods.

Sas-Pérez has worked for the organization since January 2013 serving as community outreach manager and neighborhood plan director before becoming the organization’s executive director in November 2016.

According to a resume submitted to the city, Sas-Pérez has taken a WHEDA Developer Training course and National Development Council rental housing finance courses. She is a 2011 graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The six-member City Plan Commission performs design and zoning review for real estate development proposals that require zoning changes, including changes to the city’s zoning ordinances, street vacations and proposed city land sales. Its action on those matters are advisory to the Common Council.

It has final say over 43 overlay zone districts which have additional design criteria. Under a recently approved proposal sponsored by Alderman Robert Bauman, the Common Council will be able to hear appeals on any newly-created overlay zones. Bauman has been critical of the commission’s near-unanimous approval of recommendations from the Department of City Development.

Appointees serve two-year terms and are paid $3,000 annually.

Sas-Pérez would join a commission that has experienced a lot of turnover in the past two years. Architect Allyson Nemec and Riverworks business improvement district executive director Darryl Johnson have both joined the board in the past two years. Patricia Torres Najera chairs the commission, but is running for the council seat vacated by the recently-retired Terry Witkowski. Former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel architecture critic Whitney Gould and Wisconsin AFL-CIO president Stephanie Bloomingdale have served multiple terms.

Sas-Pérez’s appointment is subject to Common Council approval.

If Sas-Pérez is confirmed by the council, the commission that oversees the male-dominated real estate industry would include five females and one male.

Sas-Pérez is a resident of Sherman Park.

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Related Legislation: File 190367