As a homeowner directly impacted by this development, with my property being directly adjacent to the proposed development, 7428 Watson Avenue, the extension approved last year in 2023 was due to the fact that the Luther Group switched their intended use of part of their mixed use first floor. They moved away from a learning lab partnership with the Wauwatosa school district, where people with developmental disabilities could gain lifelong and career skills. Instead they wanted to replace it with more standard retail space.
I would like to remind the committee that the principal selling point for this development was to provide at least 20% of the apartments to adults with developmental disabilities and also this "learning lab" to help further their aims or providing housing and opportunities for this group of people. A worthy cause. If you look back at the supporters of this development, it was largely made of people supporting this cause. When they switched their proposal to be a retail space instead, many of the neighborhood residents impacted brought their concerns to the meeting last year. I think those concerns were heard by the committee and they asked the Luther Group to come back with something closer to their original proposal. I believe this also prompted the Luther Group to request the 1 year PUD approval extension.
I would also like to offer my thoughts about the original development approval by the Design Review Board and the Common Council. Many of the neighborhood residents, including me, and other residents provided emails and in person comments about their concerns over the size and scale of this project. Many of the concerns centered on it being way too tall (5 stories), way too many apartments (90 + townhouses), and that the proposed plan was to place an access road directly next to the property lines of the three houses that border this property (including my house). Another greatly voiced concern was the increased traffic and volume at an already problematic intersection, in addition to it being a very busy intersection with foot traffic from students at the middle school. Most residents I have talked to who sincerely voiced these concerns to both boards felt like we were largely ignored and the proposal was essentially "rubber stamped" and approved without much revision to the original plans brought by the Luther Group.
If this additional year extension does get approved, I would ask the Luther Group and the board about ways they can work with the neighbors and come up with smaller scale plans to have this development be reduced in scale/size when it comes to the number of stories (why couldn't it be three stories which would be similar to some other condos and apartments that have been built directly within neighborhoods - thinking of the Pasadena and the Colectivo developments) and the number of apartments, give more consideration to buffering between the development and the property lines being shared with those houses, and make sure the size and style of this proposed development help make it fit perfectly within this historic neighborhood that is also the beginning of the Wauwatosa Avenue historic district.
Regards,
Kevin Catlin
7428 Watson Avenue
Wauwatosa WI 53213
The committee should consult legal opinions on whether requiring applicants to apply for and pay a fee to extend PUD approvals every year is best legal practice.
This was added to the Wisconsin statutes by 2017 Wisconsin Act 243:
"66.10015(5)(5) Expiration dates. A political subdivision may not establish an expiration date for an approval related to a planned development district of less than 5 years after the date of the last approval required for completion of the project. This section does not prohibit a political subdivision from establishing timelines for completion of work related to an approval."
Link is here: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/66.10015(5)
As a homeowner directly impacted by this development, with my property being directly adjacent to the proposed development, 7428 Watson Avenue, the extension approved last year in 2023 was due to the fact that the Luther Group switched their intended use of part of their mixed use first floor. They moved away from a learning lab partnership with the Wauwatosa school district, where people with developmental disabilities could gain lifelong and career skills. Instead they wanted to replace it with more standard retail space.
I would like to remind the committee that the principal selling point for this development was to provide at least 20% of the apartments to adults with developmental disabilities and also this "learning lab" to help further their aims or providing housing and opportunities for this group of people. A worthy cause. If you look back at the supporters of this development, it was largely made of people supporting this cause. When they switched their proposal to be a retail space instead, many of the neighborhood residents impacted brought their concerns to the meeting last year. I think those concerns were heard by the committee and they asked the Luther Group to come back with something closer to their original proposal. I believe this also prompted the Luther Group to request the 1 year PUD approval extension.
I would also like to offer my thoughts about the original development approval by the Design Review Board and the Common Council. Many of the neighborhood residents, including me, and other residents provided emails and in person comments about their concerns over the size and scale of this project. Many of the concerns centered on it being way too tall (5 stories), way too many apartments (90 + townhouses), and that the proposed plan was to place an access road directly next to the property lines of the three houses that border this property (including my house). Another greatly voiced concern was the increased traffic and volume at an already problematic intersection, in addition to it being a very busy intersection with foot traffic from students at the middle school. Most residents I have talked to who sincerely voiced these concerns to both boards felt like we were largely ignored and the proposal was essentially "rubber stamped" and approved without much revision to the original plans brought by the Luther Group.
If this additional year extension does get approved, I would ask the Luther Group and the board about ways they can work with the neighbors and come up with smaller scale plans to have this development be reduced in scale/size when it comes to the number of stories (why couldn't it be three stories which would be similar to some other condos and apartments that have been built directly within neighborhoods - thinking of the Pasadena and the Colectivo developments) and the number of apartments, give more consideration to buffering between the development and the property lines being shared with those houses, and make sure the size and style of this proposed development help make it fit perfectly within this historic neighborhood that is also the beginning of the Wauwatosa Avenue historic district.
Regards,
Kevin Catlin
7428 Watson Avenue
Wauwatosa WI 53213
The committee should consult legal opinions on whether requiring applicants to apply for and pay a fee to extend PUD approvals every year is best legal practice.
This was added to the Wisconsin statutes by 2017 Wisconsin Act 243:
"66.10015(5)(5) Expiration dates. A political subdivision may not establish an expiration date for an approval related to a planned development district of less than 5 years after the date of the last approval required for completion of the project. This section does not prohibit a political subdivision from establishing timelines for completion of work related to an approval."
Link is here: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/66.10015(5)
Thanks,
Robin Palm, AICP