Milwaukee's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee (ZND) last week approved a new zoning district that would allow for multifamily buildings of up to eight units throughout the city.
The vote came a week after the Milwaukee Plan Commission
recommended the committee vote against the zoning code change, citing strong community opposition to it.
ZND also approved a separate zoning code change that would establish a more streamlined process to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are a self-contained residence located on a property that already has a separate, primary residence.
Both proposals are similar to recommendations in the Department of City Development‘s much broader Growing MKE initiative, which is an effort to overhaul the city’s zoning code that
hasn’t been adopted due to community opposition.
Common Council President
Jose Pérez and Ald.
Bob Bauman, however, introduced the two items as separate files late last year.
Perez and Bauman introduced one zoning code amendment that would create a new zoning district, RT5, which would allow for multifamily buildings between five and eight units to be built on a lot without the need to create a special zoning district or navigate variances with the Board of Zoning Appeals, both of which can be unappealing processes that cost time and money, supporters have said.
The Growing MKE initiative included a similar recommendation that would automatically apply this zoning designation to certain lots in denser neighborhoods or along commercial corridors. Perez and Bauman’s proposal would not automatically change the zoning of any parcel and still require that proposals be heard on a case-by-case basis to preserve Common Council control.
The RT5 designation could also create a pathway for emerging developers, often people of color, to enter the real estate world without having access to large amounts of capital, supporters have said.
Perez and Bauman argued that making development of multifamily buildings of this size easier would boost the city’s stock of what’s called “missing middle housing,” which refers to medium-density housing. Housing and planning experts say missing middle housing is a key part of addressing the housing shortage and affordability challenges nationwide and locally.
However, several opponents of both the Growing MKE initiative and the separate RT5 zoning district argue that the changes could encourage more absentee investor landlords to buy up housing in the city and could lead to gentrification in city neighborhoods, and that the units built under this zoning district would not be affordable for people already living in the neighborhood.
"You will decimate, annihilate Black Milwaukee,"
Nicole Robinson, a representative of
5 Points Neighborhood Association, told committee members.
Opponents also criticized the city’s public engagement efforts, saying sufficient feedback from city residents, primarily in the central city, was not gathered and they don’t have confidence enough community engagement will be done when proposals emerge under this new zoning district.
"I don't have a problem in the abstract with having another item on the menu, but it's a fair question to ask about whether you can put in those guardrails that would ensure sufficient community engagement," Ald.
Scott Spiker said.
Ultimately, the committee voted 4-1 to pass the ordinance.
The committee voted unanimously to pass the ordinance related to ADUs, though the Plan Commission had previously recommended approval of that item.
Both ordinances will still need approval from the Common Council, which is set to vote on them on Tuesday.
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