Council Might Hold Up Mayor’s Changes To Zoning Board

Milwaukee City Hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A citizen-led committee responsible for deciding issues like whether or not a fence may exceed the maximum allowed height, a child care center should be allowed in a residential neighborhood or a drug treatment clinic on a commercial street has itself become a political football at City Hall.

The Common Council might hold up appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA) in part because of Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s proposal to place the citizen-staffed board under the control of Department of Administration director Preston Cole, but also because many council members want to see their own input weighed more heavily by board members.

“I have been against that,” said Council President José G. Pérez of the reorganization at Tuesday’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee meeting. “I think there is a lot to figure out with that.”

Pérez suggested the committee could hold the four pending appointments to the five-member board while the budget process plays out in the coming weeks. Included in the mayor’s proposal is the reassignment of BOZA to the Department of Administration, and the council president said having certainty on if that will happen could guide things going forward. “It’s not denying the reappointments,” said Pérez.

Alderman Robert Bauman reiterated that it wasn’t personal but a reflection of the way city government is structured. “In effect, our only ability to ask questions, to hold independent bodies accountable… is at the confirmation process,” said the alderman. “The only play we have is the power of the purse.” And the council, in 2017, already pulled on the purse strings and cut the BOZA chair’s salary nearly in half. “We sent a message that way.”

But the council appears to be fractured on the latest matter, or at least how to approach it.

After discussing holding the appointments, the committee endorsed four appointments on split votes. Only chair-in-waiting Eric Lowenberg, an attorney, remain in the lurch. The five-member committee, with a member absent, first deadlocked on holding his appointment. Then Ald. Jonathan Brostoff returned to break the tie, advancing Lowenberg.

He would be reappointed to a third term, but his first as chair. The full council will review the four endorsed appointments on Oct. 31.

Landscape architect Jennifer Current‘s reappointment was recommended for approval on a 3-2 vote. It would be her third term on the board. Former alderman Terry Witkowski‘s appointment to replace Roy B. Evans was endorsed on a unanimous vote. Marjorie Rucker, an attorney who leads The Business Council, also was endorsed on a 4-1 vote with Ald. Russell W. Stamper, II voting yes, leaving Bauman as the only objector. Rucker would replace Jewel Currie. Both Currie and Evans have expiring terms.

Council members Brostoff, Michael Murphy and JoCasta Zamarripa endorsed each of the appointments. Pérez doesn’t serve on the committee and couldn’t vote, nor could many other council members present for the conversation.

BOZA meets monthly for what is a several-hour-long meeting with many public hearings. Members, according to the 2023 city budget, are paid $4,200 annually. The mayor-appointed chair is paid $35,000. In addition to the chair and four full members, there are two alternate members that are paid the full amount and fill in for absent members. A non-voting secretary, a full-time city employee, leads the board’s administrative staff. The council’s zoning committee oversees changes to the zoning code, including rezoning parcels to accommodate large development proposals, while BOZA primarily addresses special uses of the council-approved code.

“I’ve served under three chairs. I’ve seen what works and doesn’t,” said Lowenberg. Most recently, the chair has been Evans. Council and administration officials have admitted that the board has had backlog and process issues since the COVID-19 pandemic started. “We had a lot of applications coming forward that weren’t ready. I think that caused a lot of the backlog.”

Lowenberg said he had ideas about how things could improve in the future, including adding Spanish language support and earlier mailings. He also said he was committed to the board’s autonomy. “If I didn’t think there was going to be autonomy, I probably wouldn’t be interested in continuing or at least elevating my role,” he said in response to a question from Pérez, who suggested Cole was now controlling the board.

“If this is some kind of covert takeover, I don’t believe that’s acceptable, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on here,” said Lowenberg.

Stamper asked the nominees for their opinions on how the testimony of council members and neighbors should be weighed.

“I think it’s important to hear from the public,” said Lowenberg. He said elected officials were more complicated. “We can’t just defer entirely to the alderman of the district, but I do think it’s important.” The decisions have to be based on the zoning code and defensible in court.

Ald. Lamont Westmoreland said he wanted more consistency from the board and shorter approval time frames, which would force businesses to be better operators. Citing two similar approvals with different time limits, including an opioid treatment facility in his district, the alderman questioned why there weren’t standards. Lowenberg said the board must often go from memory on past votes, but that he thought the appropriate decisions were made.

Ald. Milele A. Coggs asked if the investment required to open a facility determined how long an approval should be for. “It’s not a criteria, but I think it is relevant and valid for consideration,” said Lowenberg.

“I think we can do better, I think we will do better,” said Lowenberg.

Outside of the board appointments, a new non-voting secretary was already assigned. Peter Laritson was temporarily transferred from the Department of Neighborhood Services to manage the day-to-day operations. According to Pérez, prior secretary Jeffrey Thomas now has a workplace claim against the city. Pérez said the claim, and whether it was found to be valid or not, was yet another reason to delay acting.

The full council will get to review the appointments on Oct. 31. It will vote on the budget, including the reorganization, on Nov. 3.

In addition to the four pending appointments, the other existing members of BOZA are vice chair Henry Szymanski and alternate members Lindsey St. Arnold Bell and Clifton Crump.

Department of Administration on the Move

BOZA isn’t the only move that would impact the Department of Administration (DOA).

Under the pending budget, the Office of Violence Prevention would also be relocated from the Milwaukee Health Department to DOA.

A $145,000-per-year deputy director role is also proposed in the budget to handle more day-to-day administration. The new job would free Cole to work on big-picture projects and effectively serve as a deputy mayor. “My responsibility is to lead and move barriers out of my employees’ way,” said Cole in May when the Finance & Personnel Committee first reviewed the larger reorganization proposal. Cole said the deputy role is necessary given the increased number of projects being handled by DOA as it shifts away from being an internal services agency. “We need to move at lightning speed to solve myriad problems.”

Cole returned to city service in February after serving as the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Governor Tony Evers‘ first term. Under Mayor Tom Barrett, he previously served as operations director of the Department of Public Works and commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood Services.

UPDATE: The description of the two votes on Lowenberg’s reappointment was updated.