Milwaukee is ahead of the curve when it comes to residential zoning

Zoning can be viewed as a complex series of integrated policies which have as their purpose the establishment of order, predictability, and scale in towns, cities, villages, and counties. Zoning can also be viewed as a simple set of guidelines to be taken into consideration when making land use decisions. In the latter case, zoning decisions are often based on how people feel or who is in control just as much as what a law prescribes. Zoning runs the gamut, and as a legal tool, it can be used to create progress towards housing equity or be the mechanism that keeps people separated by race, class, and income. With that context in mind, I would like to discuss Growing MKE.

Here are three very important facts taken directly from the Growing MKE plan:

1. Milwaukee is a city of duplexes.

2. Of the existing zoning districts in Milwaukee, 40% are zoned single-family.

3. Milwaukee’s single-family zoned areas are nearly equivalent to its two-family and multi-family zoned districts combined (38%).

Most cities and neighborhoods in the United States don’t have the number of duplexes Milwaukee has. This affords a housing diversity that many are just now striving to achieve. Milwaukee, relatively speaking, has a low number of parcels zoned solely for single-family housing. In fact, the average U.S. city has upward of 75% of its residential land zoned only for single-family use. By any measure, Milwaukee is already a model city when it comes to limiting the amount of land solely dedicated to single-family housing. In 2002, the city’s zoning code was revised with a primary purpose being establishing zoning that reflects the manner in which the city was built. The recodification of 2002 permitted many of the duplexes that were built and is the reason 30% of the land zoned for residential is two-family. Given this, why are we suddenly hearing that Growing MKE is a “Racial Equity Policy”? The answer may upset you.

Earlier, I mentioned that people can use and manipulate zoning to fit a narrative. Milwaukee is imperfect, and has a long and well-documented history of racial housing segregation. However, three dramatic demographic shifts are occurring as I write this: First, Milwaukee is now a majority minority city, in large part due to an increase in the Hispanic population. Second, African-Americans are moving to Milwaukee’s South-side and surrounding suburbs. Third, African-Americans are leaving rust belt cities like Milwaukee for growing cities like Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Charlotte.

One could argue these shifts are occurring irrespective of zoning codes and may be more related to climate, income, and opportunity. There have been numerous articles and studies written both locally and nationally about why African-Americans, over generations, continue to live in the same neighborhoods. In this literature, income and day-to-day pressures of staying financially above water are cited as the reasons for the lack of upward mobility. Single-family zoning holding them back is not mentioned. Study after study has shown qualified African-Americans failing to secure mortgage loans even as white applicants with similar resources obtaining them. I ask again, how will a change in the zoning code impact that? Single-family zoning has benefits, and the vilification of it in Growing MKE doesn’t create more integration or opportunity. For example, I might like having no sidewalks. I might like having my house more than five feet from my neighbor’s. I might prefer a 25 mph speed limit on my side street or a driveway instead of an alley so I can watch my children play in the backyard without worrying about a reckless driver tearing down the alley. These are all ancillary traits of single-family zoning, no different from the preferences some might have for living in a 150-unit apartment building. To each his or her own. In Milwaukee we have the space and can to do it all. People of color are in leadership positions in both the city and county and now is the time for us to get creative in Milwaukee to solve our housing dilemmas. Here a few recommendations for us to explore to create all forms of housing in Milwaukee.

We know that home ownership is higher in areas where single-family homes predominate. We also know that rents stabilize when more rental units are available. Therefore, we need to demand that all forms of housing including workforce, affordable, and yes, even market-rate are developed simultaneously. What if we developed a rental subsidy program that encouraged residents to move into single-family zoned districts that have high percentages of home ownership, with the goal of achieving greater income integration and upward mobility? What if we tried building minority home ownership in this way as opposed to creating affordable housing units? Not all people of color are poor or need affordable housing. Sometimes I think that gets lost in our housing discussions. What if were to develop a way to incentivize and create more market rate housing abutting downtown? Can we re-imagine when and where we deploy Tax Incremental Financing to achieve greater housing diversity? Fortunately for us, unlike other cities that currently have both restrictive residential zoning and are short tens of thousands of housing units, we have time to get our house in order.

Not too long ago, I watched the local evening news and noticed that the entire crew was young people of color. I thought to myself, “I wonder where they live,” and wished I had viable market-rate apartments for them to consider. These are the types of people we need to recruit and to encourage to stay in Milwaukee. But market-rate housing is not occurring at the rate I would like in my district. I fully support regular review of our city’s zoning code to ensure we are being equitable. Besides, no zoning code lasts forever. In Milwaukee, though, 85% of our land is not zoned solely for single-family housing. That is to confuse us with River Hills. Let’s stop pretending it’s a major factor here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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