“City politicians call Chicago a national model for how to involve the public in real estate development debates. But the view from the streets of the city’s neighborhoods is markedly different.
When a longtime homeowner tried to speak up at the only City Council hearing on a project in his Far North Side neighborhood, aldermen threatened to toss him from the room for trying to ask questions.”
This article in the Chicago Tribune is part 5 of the ongoing “Neighborhoods for Sale” series, and highlights similar problems to what’s happening in Milwaukee. It documents an insiders’, pay-to-play game in which favored developers, architects and lawyers get their way with zoning changes.
Sound familiar? Anyone in city of Milwaukee who is looking to battle a large development (think Prospect Ave or dorms) should read this article. Issues of traffic, parking, viewshed and sun blocking are all referenced, as are other Milwaukee problems, such as lack of notification of residents required by law, and political donations used to influence aldermen in their decisions.
Because of the influence of money on Alders, I fully support local campaign finance reform, including limiting donations to people who live within the district. Additionally, I think capping the total money that can be spent is necessary to avoid buying the vote by doing the most mailings. Let those who want to win, go out and knock on doors and talk to the residents. It shouldn’t be about raising money, unless, that is, you aren’t planning on representing your constituents.
21 Aug 2008 | 7:49 pm | Development, Representation, 3rd District | Read 1 comment - Add your comments
The three finalists for UWM Dorms are: The Hometown site on the Milwaukee River (within the Milwaukee River Overlay District), the site on the 1700 block of Farwell (at Royall), and Prospect Mall. There will be meetings the first week of September (see calendar) for each site.
Alder Nik Kovac answered the questions that came up at the public meeting regarding the dorms. Here are UWM’s responses. Feel free to comment on them below.
Sign up for E-Notify to get future notices from Alder Kovac. Subscribe to the 3rd Aldermanic District Category.
21 Aug 2008 | 7:16 pm | UWM, 3rd District | Read 1 comment - Add your comments
Our 3D Vision group is working on a community art and beautification project.
We want to beautify and make our neighborhoods safer and we’d like to use one or two of our alleys (or streets) as pilot projects which might spur more interest throughout Riverwest and beyond. In the short run this will result in us being part of ArtWalk and getting a little press, and in the long run we hope this idea spreads out into other parts of the city.
Specifically, we’re working right now to hook up with some artists (of all ages and genres, come on over!) who would be willing to paint murals on garage doors. Property owners will receive a rough sketch of the work to be done, and would have input and say in what goes on their space. This could expand to stencils for use in alleys (or on trash cans, to encourage their use), or personalized stencils to go in front of each house, according to the specifications of the resident/homeowner. We could also do a little gardening in the occasional small patches that are found in some alleys.
Continue reading ‘Art in the Alleys’
5 Aug 2008 | 10:19 am | Art, Safety, DIY - Do It Yourself, 3rd District | No comments yet - Add your comments
The UWM Foundation has finally released the names of proposed locations for UWM dorms (housing 500-700 freshmen and sophomores) and their developers.
Three locations are within the Milwaukee River Overlay District (MROD), and the location on Water St. is directly on the river, but outside the MROD. Four locations are in Riverwest.
The locations include:
- Prospect Mall and parking lot
- Northwest corner of E. Locust St. and N. Humboldt Blvd. (where the bar, “Tracks” is located)
- The undeveloped portion of the housing authority’s Holton Terrace at 2825 N. Holton St.
- Just west of intersection of N. Water St. and Humboldt Ave.
- 2628-60 N. Humboldt Blvd., east side of Humboldt south of Center St. (MROD)
- Hometown site, abutting the Milwaukee River corridor at E. North Ave. (MROD)
- 1744 N. Farwell Ave.
- 1300 E. Locust St. - Heinemann’s Commissary (MROD)
You can find the full article here along with the names of the developers. You can find a map of the locations here.
Note: It will be interesting to see if UWM completes a second dorm on publicly owned land (the Holton St. location is such), and what kind of political acrobatics will lubricate that coupling. RiverView Dorms were built on County-owned parkland protected by the National Park Service, and it was orchestrated by a developer-driven land swap. What the public got in return for the taking of that land was a short section of trail (for which the public already had an easement) and a small piece of land in Oak Creek. As our economy goes down the toilet, governmental bodies are going to be more and more tempted to sell land and other assets to developers and others who are able to strike bargain deals in desperate times. Who will hold them accountable?
Keep your eye on another piece of publicly owned land (including public housing) which is on the river and may soon be on the developers’ chopping block: Riverview Housing on Kane St., the same block that Julilly Kohler is building her upscale green development. Coincidence?
4 Aug 2008 | 12:08 pm | Development, 3rd District | Read 2 comments - Add your comments