Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - April 13, 2026
Historic Preservation Commission Meeting - April 13, 2026
On April 13, 2026, the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission convened at 3:00 PM in City Hall, Room 301-B, under Chair Jordan Morales. All seven commissioners were present (Nicholas Hans Robinson and Sally Peltz arrived at 3:02 PM). The meeting lasted until 4:14 PM and covered 29 agenda items, including the creation of a 3D imaging subcommittee, several Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs), and a mural proposal. All votes were unanimous except where noted.
Consent Calendar
- Items 10–27 (Staff-Approved COAs): The commission approved a single omnibus motion for 18 staff-approved Certificates of Appropriateness covering routine repairs, replacements, and installations across various historic districts. Items included roof repairs, masonry work, fencing, HVAC equipment, electrical upgrades, and tree removal. All passed 7–0.
Discussion Items
- Creation of a 3D Imaging Subcommittee (Item 1): Senior Planner Tim Askin explained that a recent ordinance change by Alderman Bauman requires establishing procedures and guidelines for three-dimensional (laser-scanning) imaging of buildings slated for demolition in locally designated historic districts. The subcommittee will define technical standards, exemptions (e.g., garages), and submission criteria. The property owner pays for the scan. Commissioners Matt Jarosz (chair), Ann Pieper Eisenbrown, and Nicholas Hans Robinson volunteered. Motion to create the subcommittee passed unanimously.
- Garage Demolition at 2465 W. Congress Street (Item 2): Staff noted that none of the garages in the Garden Homes Historic District are original, and this garage was unsalvageable. The owner requested demolition. Motion to adopt the resolution passed 6–0 (Robinson and Peltz arrived after vote? Minutes show 6-0).
- Garage Demolition and Repairs at 1060 E. Juneau Avenue (Item 3): The attached garage, added in the 1960s to an 1887 house, was causing masonry damage. Owners requested removal and replacement of the garage door opening with a wood door. Owner representative Corey Didier was present. Motion to adopt passed 7–0.
- Rehabilitation of Geuder-Paeschke Frey Building (Item 4): Owner Kendall Breuning detailed plans for 47 market-rate apartments (workforce housing) using historic tax credits. Scope includes repairing windows, reopening bricked-in openings, removing concrete block infill, and replacing non-historic fencing. The National Park Service conditionally approved Part 2, requiring removal of brick piers from fencing. Staff recommended approval with conditions (no vents on St. Paul façade; standard wood/masonry requirements). Motion to adopt passed 7–0.
- Rear Addition at 2315 E. Ivanhoe Place (Item 5): Architect Keith Barnes presented a new sunroom (14' x 16') replacing an existing deck, designed to be largely invisible from the street. All painted wood. Staff recommended approval with standard wood quality conditions. Motion to adopt passed 7–0.
- Third Floor Balcony at 2015 N. Lake Drive (Item 6): This revised design adds a balcony above an existing bay window, reusing the same opening and retaining hood molding and side wings. The balcony railing copies a historic fence on the property. Owner John Hambrook was present. Staff recommended approval with condition on final wood door selection. Motion to adopt passed 7–0.
- Amendment for Schuster's Department Store (Item 7): Ted Matkom (Gorman & Company) reported that leasing to Milwaukee County Behavioral Health did not proceed due to a $3 million budget overage. The revised plan converts the building to all-residential, adding 11 windows on the rear façade and redesigning the parking lot. The National Park Service approved the revised Part 2. Staff recommended approval with conditions (reconfirm parking lot landscaping compliance). Motion to adopt passed 7–0.
- Carriage House Rehabilitation at 2007 E. Windsor Place (Item 8): Owner/architect Wade Weissman described extensive work to address deferred maintenance, including a new chimney, roof, windows, awnings, and landscaping. Commissioners debated the addition of shutters; staff opposed them as inconsistent with a carriage house character. The commission voted to allow shutters, overriding staff's recommendation. Motion to adopt with staff conditions 1 (fabric awnings) and 18 (step flashing on chimney) passed 7–0.
- Mural at 918 N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue (Item 9): Staff presented a proposal by Seeds of Health for a large mural (approximately 40' x 70') using mural cloth adhered to brick. Concerns were raised about potential damage from adhesive removal (requiring pressure washing, which is restricted on historic masonry), maintenance, and artist rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). The applicant, Matt Krivanek, indicated the adhesive is water-based and removable. Commissioners requested to see an example of the artist's other fabric-adhered mural before deciding. The item was held to the next meeting (motion passed 7–0).
Key Outcomes
- 3D Imaging Subcommittee Established: Matt Jarosz (chair), Ann Pieper Eisenbrown, and Nicholas Hans Robinson will define technical standards and exemptions for laser scanning of historic structures prior to demolition.
- All Certificates of Appropriateness Voted: The commission approved 8 individual COAs (Items 2–8) and 18 staff-approved COAs (Items 10–27) with no dissenting votes. Item 9 was held for further review.
- Minutes Approved: The minutes from the March 2, 2026 meeting were approved without objection.
- Awards Update: Tim Askin noted eight nominations for historic preservation awards. The ceremony is scheduled for the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. Voting materials will be distributed before the next meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Order the regularly scheduled meeting of the historic preservation commission. I'm Jordan Morales, the chairman. Can we please take the role? Hey. Anne Pieper? Yeah. Sally Pelt. Excuse. Excused. Nicolas Robinson. Excuse Patricia Keaton? Here. Matt DeRose? Here. Robert Boutman. Here. Jordan Morales. Here. All right. Excellent. Well, uh, item one, creation of a committee to esta oh am I reading that correctly? Creation of a committee to establish procedures and guidelines for three-dimensional imaging. Yes, part of the recent change to the ordinance uh done by Alderman Bauman and Mr. Jaris requires uh a group of you to set guidelines for when we are going to require three-dimensional uh imaging for demolitions. So volunteers required so is this requiring essentially BIM modeling for demolition projects? Is that what it is? Yeah, it's basically you know who stores the information and how specific is it and so forth. Fairly standard, but I think it would be important to have a committee think about that and think about what projects and I guess I I hope I don't want to speak out of turn here, but I guess I've talked to a couple people, and there's about approximately 250 um demolition permits a year. A couple different people have told me that. And I would say, you know, of those there might be five, six, eight, ten worthy of of or needing laser scanning. And I think that that's the point of the subcommittee is to make the determination, certainly if it's on a local register or the national register, uh, certainly qualify. But that does not mean then that if it is, but you know, that that it needs to be scanned, right? I think it's just a subcommittee to evaluate what really is worthy uh of that. Sure, sure. Well, I actually I think the ordinance defines that it's this subcommittee would prepare technical specifications. Yes, as to what the scan should be, you know, the dots what whatever the parameters are and technical parameters because the ordinance is very clear. Only properties that are locally designated and in historic districts are covered, not his not registry, not national register. Right. Which is really the only and and anyways is local. We don't have it on that. And I don't think we've uh we've had demolitions of structures in a long, long time that are historically designated. We've had garages and shacks and sheds and things of that sort, like today. So it does not apply to garages. I see. Well, it's phrased that it could be it will be up to this committee to uh decide whether all garages get exempted or up. Is there a certain size or quality standard? Is there a description of how what the possibilities are? Like, do you like you're asking, does it need to completely be scanned or just partially scanned, or what what is your question? The first and most basic part of it is that the exteriors only the exterior scanned. Okay, no interiors of these buildings are required, and that's a much longer process.
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