Ronald McDonald House plans expansion

Are we still talking about more development on the County Grounds – and consequent loss of potential parkland? Where will the line be drawn?

If you haven’t been to Ronald McDonald House it’s probably because you haven’t needed its services. Officially called Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin, Inc., the organization provides a place to stay as well as outreach programs for families of children who are patients in Children’s Hospital. Perched on a lovely hilltop across Watertown Plank Road from the hospital and surrounded by acres of meadow and woodlands, it is ideally situated for its mission.

Now, due to the success of its worthy cause, the organization wants to nearly triple the size of its facility and is ready to pursue that plan.

The bucolic setting is hardly a coincidence and provides much more than proximity to the hospital. Natural surroundings are often preferred by hospitals, hospices, and convalescent homes because they promote healing and provide a welcome respite to patients and visitors alike.

In fact, if you walk through the woods and down into the ravine behind Ronald McDonald House you will find the remains of stone stairways, overgrown sidewalks, and a crumbling foundation or two. Some of the county’s most needy patients once strolled these pathways behind the County Asylum. The entire Medical Complex owes its very existence to the exurban terrain that Milwaukee County began purchasing for it in 1852.

Ronald McDonald House is truly privileged to be surrounded by such beauty on the County Grounds. What a perfect match between such undeniably important humanitarian services and nature!

What will happen to this symbiotic relationship when—once again—the County Grounds are faced with further development pressures?

As I write this, still ringing in my ears are the words of the Wauwatosa mayoral candidates who spoke Monday evening at a forum sponsored by Patch. All three insisted that no more of the County Grounds should be developed. Alderman Donegan said, “I don’t think the people of Wauwatosa will tolerate further development of the County Grounds.” John Pokrandt was even more categorical. “The remainder of the land absolutely must be protected,” he said.

I understand his passion. I share it.

Monday afternoon, the same day as the forum, representatives of Ronald McDonald House met with members of the County Board and County Executive’s office to present their request for an expansion. Their existing facility rests on four acres and they are requesting an additional seven acres stretching out towards the meadow and the wood.

They can do this because throughout the more than 10 years of controversy about saving open green space approximately 30 acres on the southeast corner of the County Grounds has never been part of the discussion. It is still zoned by the City of Wauwatosa for economic development.

The staff and the board of Ronald McDonald House are sensitive to their situation. Last week I met with Linda Kohler, President of RMH, Bob Monday, Chair of the Board, and Ann Phillips, Head Gardener. Because they understand the value that the citizens of Milwaukee County place on this land they also care about how the community will react to their request.

They plan to meet with environmental organizations and other concerned citizens to discuss how best to satisfy everyone’s concerns.

County Executive Abele’s office is expected to introduce to the County Board a resolution to proceed with negotiations soon. The public will have an opportunity to testify at a meeting of the Economic and Community Development Committee on March 5, 2012. The meeting will be in room 201B, County Courthouse, at 9 am (this is subject to change.)

Open space advocates—and mayoral candidates—may reasonably shudder at the prospect of yet another compromise and loss of open land on the County Grounds. But County Supervisor Lynn DeBruin says, “It seems like a win-win can be reached.”

I agree. If the expansion plans are shifted to concentrate development only along Watertown Plank Road and if—this is the crucial point—the northern portion of the site is truly protected from further development with conservancy zoning, then it will be a win-win-win, as I see it.

Ronald McDonald House will be able to expand to meet its needs. The general public, including the literally hundreds of dog-walkers who regularly enjoy this site, will retain one of the jewels of the County Grounds in perpetuity.

The third win? Children’s Hospital, along with the entire Medical Complex, will benefit not only from the expansion of services at Ronald McDonald House, but also from that symbiotic relationship with nature that is so restorative.

It could seem as though the cards are stacked against conservation, since the current zoning envisioned development for medical use. However, a lot has occurred on the County Grounds since that parcel was zoned. The Medical Complex has continued to grow, choosing increased density instead of sprawl that would encroach on the valuable amenity across the way.

The public has spoken out repeatedly on the need for preservation—and along the way has learned to love the land by getting out and walking on it.

Wauwatosa has debated the types and scope of development on the Innovation Park site and the city already has rezoned parts of the grounds, including what is now Milwaukee County’s newest park.

The mayoral candidates are only the latest in a series of civic leaders who have come to recognize the importance of our parks and open space to sustainability and the quality of life in our community.

The time is right for rezoning this last piece of the County Grounds puzzle. What we have here really is akin to New York City’s Central Park. It’s value as parkland far exceeds any other use to which it may be put. And this 20-acre corner truly is one of the most significant natural gems on the entire grounds. 

I recommend that you visit Ronald McDonald House and ask for a tour. Its magnificent great room is the hub of a network of excellent programs. The need for more space will quickly become apparent. When you finish that tour, take a walk out back. Stroll beneath the grand old oaks and maples. Listen for the owls; watch for the hawks. Discover for yourself the reminders of its storied past.

What a perfect match! Let’s pursue the win-win-win solution and complete the puzzle that will make the County Grounds a matchless asset to the region – as parkland.

Milwaukee County Grounds: a proposal with no proponents

It was standing room only in the Common Council meeting room at Wauwatosa City Hall last night. On the agenda: a public hearing about whether or not to rezone two pieces of the Milwaukee County Grounds. Item one, if approved, would rezone 89-acres as a business district in order to permit UWM to move forward with its proposed Innovation Park and research campus. Item two would rezone 55 acres as a conservancy district for parkland.

Mayor Jill Didier explained that each item would be addressed as follows: Proponents speak first; then opponents, followed by general questions.
No one stood up to support the proposed rezoning of item one.

(A member of the Wauwatosa Preservation Society did stand up and speak in order to address the preservation of the Eschweiler Buildings, but she specifically qualified her remarks by saying she was not there to support the entire zoning proposal.)

Then a wide variety of citizens of all ages took turns at the microphone to oppose the rezoning and propose that the entire remaining land in the county grounds be zoned as conservancy. They spoke eloquently and passionately about the value of the land, the loss of green space in Wauwatosa, the importance of the Monarch and other wildlife habitats, and about their personal experiences on the county grounds. The mood in the room was overwhelmingly in favor of maintaining open green space and preserving wildlife.

When all the opponents were finished I rose to ask two rhetorical questions.

Why did no one come to support the proposal? It requires no leap of logic to conclude that the proponents were so confident of approval that they felt the Common Council needed no convincing.

If the land is rezoned, does that mean that the UWM proposal is also approved? That proposal, which was left alarmingly open ended, has generated continued controversy and debate. Nancy Welch, Director of Community Development, explained that the business district zoning would give Wauwatosa the most control over the development of the site. I urged the Common Council to assert its control by adopting specific and effective restrictions over what, where, and how much development occurs. The goal should be to keep within the spirit of the previously adopted Kubala-Washatko plan and the will of the community as expressed at this hearing.

Item two was more predictably one-sided. The entire audience stood in support of conservancy zoning for the parkland. Several spoke. Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, urged that both parcels be zoned as conservancy. This elicited a rousing applause. Another speaker assured the Council that no one opposes UWM, only their choice of a location for their campus. A UWM faculty member reminded the Council that the Innovation Park proposal is highly controversial even within the UWM community.

No one spoke in opposition to this proposal.

“Call me a skeptic,” I said as I got up once more to ask a question. What kinds of development are allowed in a conservancy zone? There was a loud collective gasp as Ms. Welch explained that conservancy zoning allows for athletic facilities and educational or park-related structures. Mayor Didier quickly jumped in to assure the crowd that no stadiums were being proposed.
I requested that the obvious will of the people be enshrined in the greater protections provided by zoning the land as “no-build” in addition to conservancy. Further, the “no-build” restrictions should be added to those portions of the business district identified in the plan as wildlife habitat and green spaces, as well as the 17-acre DOT outlot set aside for freeway expansion.

Much was said about the value of this land and the Monarch habitat. It is not hyperbole to suggest that this is the most valuable land in Milwaukee County (someone added “in Wisconsin.”) It is also not hyperbole to underscore the irreplaceable importance of the Monarch habitat and the value it brings to our community. As I’ve said on the record many times: Let’s keep this treasure for future generations to enjoy.

For more on this hearing, go to WauwatosaNOW.