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Record of Proceedings

City of Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - September 3, 2026

Common Council — Thursday, September 3, 2026
BodyMilwaukee, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council
DateThursday, September 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:54:50

Original source
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0:01

Early evening, everyone.

0:03

Uh welcome to the September 3rd, 2026 meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals with City of Milwaukee.

0:10

Um, I'm Eric Willenberg, I'm the board chair.

0:12

Back in the back of the room is Molly Bain.

0:14

She'll be helping people get checked in.

0:15

If you have any questions about the agenda, you can talk to her.

0:19

Um, our meeting will be led tonight by India Garr, administrative management secretary for these meetings.

0:26

You're also joined by three members of our city departments.

0:30

We'll have them sworn in briefly, but let's first take a quorum to see if we have enough board members present to have our meeting.

0:39

Great.

0:39

Board member St.

0:40

Arnold Bell here.

0:42

Board member Rucker.

0:43

Here.

0:44

Board Member Current.

0:46

Here.

0:46

Vice Chairman Smythe.

0:48

Yeah.

0:48

Chairman Lomberg.

0:50

Here.

0:50

Do we have five?

0:51

We have four more.

0:52

We have pretty full agenda tonight.

0:56

Um I get everybody a little bit closer to the mic, please.

1:00

This is the court reporter.

1:01

Thank you.

1:02

Yes, thank you.

1:03

Better, thank you.

1:05

Okay, thank you.

1:06

We do have a court reporter, so if you are coming up to speak, make sure you speak right into the microphone so she can hear everything and transcribe it.

1:13

So we have a good record of the meeting.

1:15

Um joining us tonight is Don Schmidt from DPW, Peter Lairdsen from Department of Neighborhood Services, and Ed Richardson from Department of City Development.

1:26

They're going to be giving us input from their respective departments on each item for our consideration.

1:32

We may have questions of them.

1:33

They may have questions for you guys as the meeting as the hearings continue.

1:38

So we'll uh keep that in mind, but they have to be sworn in, Madam Secretary.

1:43

Do you affirm under oath that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

1:49

I do.

1:49

I do.

1:50

All right.

1:51

Thank you all.

1:52

Um, we did have two meetings in July.

1:56

Um just we'll go out briefly out of order here.

2:01

We have two meetings from July.

2:02

Uh, I think uh Vice Chair Shemaisky is not present for July 23rd.

2:08

Um, so we will I'd ask for another board member if they've had a chance to review the minutes to move for approval.

2:14

Move to approve the minutes from the July 23rd and July 30th board meetings.

2:21

Second.

2:23

All right.

2:25

Board member St.

2:26

Arnold Bell.

2:27

Aye.

2:27

Board member Rocker.

2:29

Aye.

2:30

Board member current.

2:31

Aye.

2:31

And Chairman Lombert.

2:33

I think Vice Chair Schmidt was here on the July 30th, but now we have it covered both July meetings uh minutes approved.

2:41

You're just confused about my and no, yeah.

2:43

I and that's true.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use Planning█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Public Safety██████████13%
Procedural█████████11%
Community Engagement█████6%
Public Engagement███4%
Youth Programs██3%
Business Licensing██2%
Public Works██2%
Public Education Funding█1%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting - September 3, 2026

The Board of Zoning Appeals convened on September 3, 2026, at 10:15 AM UTC to hear 26 consent agenda items and over 20 regular agenda items. Chair Eric Willenberg presided with Secretary India Garr. City departments DPW (Don Schmidt), DNS (Peter Lairdsen), and DCD (Ed Richardson) provided testimony. A court reporter recorded the proceedings.

Consent Calendar

The board approved all 26 consent items as recommended by staff, including dismissals without prejudice and time-limited approvals (3–10 years). No items were pulled for public hearing.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 27 – 6440 N 40th St: The applicant, Michael Gilerovich, requested a 10-year renewal for an auto repair and salvage operation. Neighbors submitted letters about activity at a nearby property he also owns, but he stated it is now secured and unoccupied. The board noted the concerns but found no direct evidence linking them to his business.
  • Item 31 – 6801 W Villard Ave: DPW and DNS detailed extensive non-compliance since the last approval (2022): over $20,000 in citations/reinspection fees, violation of the 15-vehicle limit, and outdoor storage issues. The applicant acknowledged exceeding the limit but argued the lot is large enough.
  • Item 34 – 3631 N 76th St: DNS reported ongoing violations including defective fence and lack of occupancy permit; $1,625 in reinspection fees and $2,600 in municipal judgments. The applicants explained some issues were caused by city vehicles or utility work.
  • Item 46 – 4513 W Leon Terrace (Transitional Living): Seven neighbors testified in opposition. Concerns included crime, property values, lack of community meeting, and saturation of similar facilities (two other group homes on the block). One resident described trespassing and building disrepair. The applicant, Jermaine Reed, argued the program is highly supervised (GPS monitoring, staff 15–18 hours/day) and the hardship is property-based due to the building's history as a three-family dwelling. He acknowledged not attending the neighborhood meeting.
  • Item 50 – 5727/5777 S 27th St: Alderman Spiker confirmed a neighbor's concern was resolved after clarification that the body shop addition would not be closer to residences.

Discussion Items

  • 6801 W Villard Ave: The board denied the addition of outdoor storage and car wash, citing failure to meet criteria and non-compliance. Approved a one-year renewal for the repair facility only, urging the applicant to find a larger location. Vote: 5-0.
  • 3631 N 76th St: Despite enforcement history, the board approved a one-year renewal with conditions, noting some remediation efforts. Vote: 5-0.
  • 2034 W Greenfield Ave (lots 1–4): DCD supported the project as innovative affordable housing ($150,000 per unit) aligned with the city's housing plan. DPW raised concerns about lot 2's lack of street frontage and reliance on easements. The board granted the dimensional variances, finding they met the criteria. Vote: 5-0.
  • 4513 W Leon Terrace: After testimony, a board member moved to adjourn for administrative review to allow review of the applicant's binders and the transcript. The motion passed 5-0. The case will be scheduled for a future deliberation session without additional testimony.
  • Other items: Several renewals and new permits were approved with terms from 1 to 15 years, including auto facilities, daycares, a banquet hall, and a fence variance.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved unanimously (5-0) unless noted:
    • Consent calendar (26 items).
    • 6440 N 40th St: 5-year approval for special use and variances.
    • 5815 W Villard Ave: 3-year approval (new auto repair).
    • 6801 W Villard Ave: 1-year approval for repair facility; outdoor storage and car wash denied.
    • 9006 W Silver Spring Dr: 3-year approval (assembly hall).
    • 3067 N Lake Dr: fence variance (run with the land).
    • 3631 N 76th St: 1-year approval (auto repair).
    • 3227 W National Ave: 3-year approval (auto repair).
    • 2034 W Greenfield Ave: dimensional variances granted for four lots.
    • 3027 W Greenfield Ave: 10-year approval (daycare expansion).
    • 4115 W Greenfield Ave: 5-year approval (auto sales/repair).
    • 9225–9227 W Beloit Rd: 5-year approval (daycare).
    • 1121 S 16th St: 1-year extension of previous case.
    • 5727 S 27th St: 15-year approval for dimensional variance and special uses.
    • 5777 S 27th St: 2-year approval (temporary facility).
    • 5917 S Powell Ave: 10-year approval (assembly hall/banquet).
    • 2487 W Fond du Lac Ave: 5-year approval (daycare).
  • Adjourned/Continued:
    • 4513 W Leon Terrace – adjourned for administrative review; decision pending.
    • Items 42, 43, 47, 54 – adjourned by requests.
    • Items 51 (4930 S 6th St) and 53 (1122 E Holt Ave) – dismissed without prejudice due to applicant absence.

Meeting Transcript

Early evening, everyone. Uh welcome to the September 3rd, 2026 meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals with City of Milwaukee. Um, I'm Eric Willenberg, I'm the board chair. Back in the back of the room is Molly Bain. She'll be helping people get checked in. If you have any questions about the agenda, you can talk to her. Um, our meeting will be led tonight by India Garr, administrative management secretary for these meetings. You're also joined by three members of our city departments. We'll have them sworn in briefly, but let's first take a quorum to see if we have enough board members present to have our meeting. Great. Board member St. Arnold Bell here. Board member Rucker. Here. Board Member Current. Here. Vice Chairman Smythe. Yeah. Chairman Lomberg. Here. Do we have five? We have four more. We have pretty full agenda tonight. Um I get everybody a little bit closer to the mic, please. This is the court reporter. Thank you. Yes, thank you. Better, thank you. Okay, thank you. We do have a court reporter, so if you are coming up to speak, make sure you speak right into the microphone so she can hear everything and transcribe it. So we have a good record of the meeting. Um joining us tonight is Don Schmidt from DPW, Peter Lairdsen from Department of Neighborhood Services, and Ed Richardson from Department of City Development. They're going to be giving us input from their respective departments on each item for our consideration. We may have questions of them. They may have questions for you guys as the meeting as the hearings continue. So we'll uh keep that in mind, but they have to be sworn in, Madam Secretary. Do you affirm under oath that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I do. I do. All right. Thank you all. Um, we did have two meetings in July. Um just we'll go out briefly out of order here. We have two meetings from July. Uh, I think uh Vice Chair Shemaisky is not present for July 23rd. Um, so we will I'd ask for another board member if they've had a chance to review the minutes to move for approval. Move to approve the minutes from the July 23rd and July 30th board meetings. Second. All right. Board member St.

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