County Grounds: What can you do?

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Although, as of this writing, it is snowed over in places, there is a fence line now that indicates the amount of land that will be used for Innovation Park.

My recent post about the tree cutting that was done on the County Grounds generated more response than any previous blog post. The reactions expressed in those responses ranged from anguish to anger. Clearly a lot of people care deeply about what happens on the County Grounds.

Along with the outpouring of emotions, many questions were raised. Chief among them was, “What can I do?”

The short answer is, Participate. There are two Wauwatosa Common Council committee meetings scheduled this week, the Plan Commission and the Budget and Finance Committee. Both will allow public comments. If you can’t attend, write to the aldermen and city officials. Details below. 

Witnessing the tree cutting was painful for many people. Be prepared for a similar shock when construction begins in earnest. But there are still opportunities to make your voice heard.

Credit: HGA Architecture/GRAEF

There are many moving parts to the proposed development and some of them have been changed and are to be presented to the Wauwatosa Plan Commission for approval. One aspect of the new proposal is particularly troubling. The 2010 UWM Innovation Park Master Plan (above) shows a distinct separation between the residential developments around the Eschweiler complex on the north and the rest of the campus.

This separation served several important functions. It was to be a bioswale, which helps manage stormwater runoff. The bioswale also would help to maintain a healthy habitat to support wildlife. Just as important, it preserves one of the most magnificent features of this site, an open view across the high point of the entire Count Grounds. (Future residents may have their own reasons for preferring a green space between their apartments and the business park.)

The new proposal (below) has sited a pair of buildings in the former location of the bioswale and added connecting driveways to the residential zone. The reasoning that is given is that the new HWY 45 exit ramp to be built as part of the Zoo Interchange reconstruction will encroach on the buildable area. This is true, but the amount of encroachment doesn’t justify the amount of shift in the new plan. As with the tree removal, it isn’t an innovative solution.

Credit: Nancy Aten

On the map above the dashed white lines indicate Innovation Park buildings, roads and parking. One feature that may be hard to identify on the map is a large surface parking lot in the center. In other parts of the design parking structures have been used in order to reduce the area taken up with surface parking.

The question I would ask the Plan Commission is why the revision forced by the DOT wasn’t done in a way that is more consistent with the vision of the carefully crafted Master Plan?

Meeting and contact information

Plan Commission meeting:

Monday February 11 at 7 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers at Wauwatosa City Hall.

Send emails to:

Alderwoman Kathleen Causier: kcausier@wauwatosa.net

Paulette Enders: penders@wauwatosa.net

Budget and Finance Committee meeting:

Tuesday February 12 at 7p.m. in Committee Room 1 at Wauwatosa City Hall.

This committee will discuss a proposal to change the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) district from $12.5 million to $30 million. The original TIF was created to build utilities and roadways. The new proposal allows the money to be used more “flexibly.”

Questions that a taxpayer might want answered:

What if this project does not develop as smoothly and successfully as projected?

How will the TIF affect overall land use in Innovation Park?

What about stormwater management, natural landscaping in the stormwater features, and other sustainable development features?

What will be the return to the taxpayers on an investment of $30 million?

Send emails to:

Craig Wilson (chair), cwilson@wauwatosa.net

Joel Tilleson, jtilleson@wauwatosa.net

Tim Hanson, (vice chair) thanson@wauwatosa.net

Pete Donegan pdonegan@wauwatosa.net

Jill Organ, jorgan@wauwatosa.net

Brian Ewerdt, bewerdt@wauwatosa.net

Don Birschel, dbirschel@wauwatosa.net

John Dubinski, Jdubinski@wauwatosa.net

Wauwatosa moves closer to development on the County Grounds

The Plan Commission, a committee of the Wauwatosa Common Council, voted 5-2 last night to recommend approval of a $12 million TIF (tax incremental financing) district for UWM to create its planned Innovation Park on the County Grounds. The proposal will go next to the full council for a final vote on approval.

Read the full story by Mke Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Daykin at "Land and Space."

Here is the letter I sent to the members of the Common Council before the Plan Commission meeting:

More people than ever have been visiting the Monarch Trail this season. Thanks to Barb Agnew and the Friends of the Monarch Trail, Wauwatosa and the County Grounds have become the kind of attraction that we have been envisioning. You all have affirmed your commitment to maintaining the habitat that makes this phenomenon possible. I thank you for that.

I urge you to tread carefully as you deliberate whether to pass the request for a $12 million TIF. I am not alone in thinking that this is being rushed and that the amount being requested is unduly large. In fact, some council members have raised these same questions.

I believe that if UWM is serious about building a campus on the County Grounds that the necessary funding will be found. I don't believe it has to be done now, in October, or this year. A TIF may be required - I understand that - but should not be rushed.

The people who have been flocking to the Monarch Trail are mostly new to the County Grounds. They are always amazed at what they are finding there - even when the butterflies are not present! They are almost universally concerned to learn about the development plans. It is clear to me that the majority of Wauwatosans have not been made aware of these plans, let alone the request for a TIF using their tax dollars as a guarantee.

A few of the many people watching and photographing the monarchs on Monday evening.

Dear Urban Wilderness readers, there is an alternative to the current development plans that allows for UWM to have its research campus and protects the integrity of both the historic Eschweiler buildings and the irreplaceable monarch habitat. This alternative is the work of the County Grounds Preservation Coalition, which is comprised of a growing number of non-profit organizations devoted to historic preservation and conservation. They include the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy, just to name two.

Support for UWM's research campus is not incompatible with the goals of preservation and conservation, but the premature establishment of a TIF could promote overdevelopment of the site and diminish those goals. Such a large and risky tax-payer guaranteed TIF would create tremendous pressure to reap a return on development. The cost of renovation of the historic buildings would make it even harder. All the parties know this. The coalition has a solution: separate the Eschweiler complex from the rest of the development plans.

Please call or write the members of the Common Council and ask them about this. Tell them how you feel about these plans. Common Council contact info is available on the City of Wauwatosa website.

To see more photos from the County Grounds and the Monarch Trail, click here.