A New Berlin developer is trying to put “workforce” housing (lovely euphemism, don’t you think?) in the center of the city. From what I’ve read, the zoning is already multi-family. They can pretty much build whatever they want as long as it conforms to the zoning. (Check out the comments from today’s MJS article. You’ll see the developer is engaging the public here. Someone needs to give that developer a quick lesson in suburban public relations.)
Also in that article is that wonder of a legislator, State Senator Mary Lazich, accusing the developer of - for shame – lobbying in Madison to get the job done. Good grief, woman. You’ve had your elected position how long? I suppose you aren’t a quick study.
Oh, and just in case you’ve been snoozing, you might want to see how the New Berlin mayor found his tail in a crack this week over comments he’s e-mailed. His sleepy little community is entering a challenging phase.
If I had it to do all over again, I’d have finished college early, gone to law school, and specialized in land use. I love this stuff, and I understand a whole lot of it fairly well from my boot-camp training on the council. Granted this next comment is from my understanding of what has been provided from the news articles, but it looks like New Berlin citizens are quite out of luck in fighting the complex. The zoning already exists.
Although Brookfield zoning is a maze in ambiguity, this is where all that PDD business pays off. Oh, don’t kid yourself, thanks to that brilliant urban planner Director of Community Development Dan Ertl and the leadership genius of former Mayors Jeff Speaker and Kate Bloomberg, Brookfield, too, has “workforce” housing in its planning documents. BUT! To put that zoning in place requires a vote – a super majority vote – of the council. Any community uproar over the change would have the legal opportunity to be headed.
It appears that’s not the case in New Berlin. Maybe their mayor should be asking, “Do you want fries with that?”
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Don’t miss the MJS trying to stir the pot on how the suburbs should be embracing “workforce” housing.
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PS – if you are reading this and have more details – like the zoning that exists for multi-family is at a lesser density than new zoning the developer is requesting, please let me know. That bit of news would change the game considerably.
Is workForce housing the same as Public housing? If so, brings back memories. They are not good in the suburbs.
Or subsidized housing…it seems they think changing the word for it every few years makes it new and improved!
The real story here is how the suburbs are becoming the new urban wastelands as people move back to the more efficient, convenient, cheap urban areas. It’s been less apparent in Milwaukee, where segregation is more of an issue than most cities.
A reversal of tide. I agree. That’s a big story.
I’m not going to say a whole lot.
Uh … yeah … I think I’ll not say a lot.
But I will agree with you – holier than thou, Mary ‘do nothing’ Lazich is busy pontificating. Someone please – run against this political boob. She so deserves to retire. She see’s a mob form and leaps in front of it – that’s not really what we call leadership … is it?
My understanding of ‘workforce’ housing is that it applies to detached housing, not multi-family units. If this is applicable in the case you refer to, where the zoning sounds to already be multi-family or high density, there may be plans that could be worse, much worse. Plus your planning laws may require a ‘Conditional Use’, or whatever you call it, to approve a plan that is considerably below the zoning. ( loss of revenue, school planning, roads, etc.–all those items that affect density).