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LAND USE

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"Make sure that when we change a place, the change agreed upon nurtures our growth as capable and responsible people while also protecting the natural environment and developing jobs and homes enough for all."

— Tony Hiss

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VISION FOR SUCCESS

This plan envisions land use policies that balance the economic, social, and environmental needs of the city, strengthens the local economy, improves the physical environment and preserves a high quality of life for all city residents.

The vision of success for Land Use includes:

Sustainable Growth

The City will manage growth and change through effective land use policies that sustain Milwaukee’s high quality of life, protect natural resources, and drive economic vitality. As a result, Milwaukee will be a more desirable place to live, work and visit.

Coordinated Planning

Land use and transportation planning will be coordinated to sustain and implement wise transportation planning and construction.

Quality Urban Design

The City will promote good urban design that embraces the creation of places with lasting value and civic meaning.

OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION

Located on Lake Michigan, Milwaukee is an attractive urban center that reflects its rich European history, quality neighborhoods, a diversity of cultural experiences, and natural resources. Milwaukee’s development pattern is based largely on an urban street grid system, with more suburban patterns of development on the northwest and southwest sides of the city. This pattern has yielded a city with a strong urban framework and design. Neighborhoods are wonderfully diverse in population, housing options, businesses, retail, arts and entertainment, and historic landmarks, lending the city an unusually high quality of life. Over time, Milwaukee’s diverse mix of land uses has created thriving neighborhoods and resulted in successful development and redevelopment opportunities.

Prior to 1920, there were no land use restrictions in place. At that time, the Board of Public Land Consumption issued a report focused on three components of development – area, height, and use. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement lead by Daniel Burnham in the 1890s, the City Plan Commission began efforts to develop a city plan to help guide development in a way that protected the public welfare and improved quality of life. Zoning was a fundamental part of this plan and continues to be the primary land use tool for guiding development within the city today.

The first zoning code for the City of Milwaukee, passed by the Common Council in 1920, established the rights of the City to control the land uses that were permitted in designated zoning districts. Expansion of the population base and economic activities, particularly industrial production and manufacturing, were the two primary factors driving changing land use across the city. The current Zoning Code, updated in 2002, is one of the City’s primary tools for implementing the Comprehensive Plan by regulating the allowable use of each parcel of land in the city. The code is amended regularly to address technical corrections, changes in land use practices, and changing conditions in the city, which helps to maintain land use standards to meet changing demands and market dynamics.

City of Milwaukee Land Use

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Land Use

Data Source: Department of City Development

City of Milwaukee Zoning

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Zoning

• Single Family
• Duplex
• Multi-Family and Condominiums
• Commerical
• Industrial
• Heavy Industrial
• Open Space
• Institutional
• Transportation, Communications, and Utilities
• Downtown

Data Source: Department of City Development

LAND USE 30

Milwaukee Land Use - Overview

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LAND USE

Milwaukee’s 43,795 acres are divided into roughly eight general land use categories, each of which is subdivided into a number of subcategories. The figure above details the percentage of city land that is within each category. For the majority of parcels within the city, and use is consistent with zoning; however, while zoning indicates the City’s policy in regards to specific land uses in specific areas, land use reflects the actual current use of every parcel of land.

Today, 41% of Milwaukee’s land is used for residential purposes. This is the largest of all land uses comprising over 22,000 acres. Of the residential land uses, 67% are single family dwellings, 22% are duplexes (housing two families), and 11% are multi-family units, which include apartments, condominiums, and much of the publicly supported housing. Milwaukee’s neighborhoods provide a diverse range of attractive, safe, and affordable living environments that are served by public transit, schools, arts and culture, parks, city services, and shopping, all of which help strengthen livability. In order to maintain and improve residents’ quality of life, the City allocates substantial effort and resources into maintaining and enhancing neighborhoods. The 13 Area Plans include goals, objectives, policies and catalytic projects, which will help guide the City’s efforts to achieve and maintain consistently high quality neighborhoods. In recent years the City has begun to target redevelopment efforts that have resulted in the revitalization of several neighborhoods near downtown and in older parts of the central city.

As of 2008, approximately 7% of Milwaukee’s land was designated for industrial use, which includes a wide range of activities such as manufacturing, construction, and warehousing. Much of this area is located near rail corridors which facilitate movement of manufactured goods and supplies. In the past, many of these areas were also located along waterways which provided clean, cool water for brewers and other water-intensive industrial processes. Today, a number of the waterway industrial corridors that were vacant or underutilized have been reclaimed and redeveloped, such as the Beerline B.

Milwaukee, like similar Midwestern cities built on industry and manufacturing, is in the process of recharging its economy around technology and service industries. However, industry provides about 20% of all jobs in Milwaukee (2006), and the city should strive to maintain a strong base of development-ready industrial land to support and attract industrial or business development that contributes direct economic benefits to the city. Industrial land with little potential for productive or profitable industrial use should be considered for other productive uses such as commercial, office, or residential.

Milwaukee has approximately 3,307 acres (10%) designated for commercial use (retail, office, and business) a proportion that is consistent with national trends. Currently, however, office vacancy rates are high in both the suburbs (16.5%) and downtown (19.1%), which has depressed office rents. It is important to recognize the importance of integrating and distributing commercial uses within other districts, so that access to goods and services is available to a broad cross section of the population.

Public lands make up 35% of the city, second only to residential. Public land includes parks and open space, floodplain and other natural resource areas, institutional uses (e.g., schools and hospitals), and City-owned parcels and buildings.

Milwaukee Land Use - Residential

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LOCAL ACHIEVEMENT

• The City of Milwaukee has shown significant success at redeveloping brownfields and industrial areas as catalysts for economic development and neighborhood revitalization. This has been demonstrated in the Menomonee Valley and in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor, where significant City funding is being directed for brownfield remediation, stormwater management infrastructure, and land assembly and preparation. Such public investments help pave the way for development, reinvestment, and revitalized economic productivity of these areas, which is good for the surrounding neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

• The Menomonee Valley Industrial Center and Community Park won three major awards at the 2009 National Brownfields Redevelopment Conference. The project captured the People's Choice Phoenix Award, the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 Phoenix Award, and a Brownfields Renewal Environmental Impact Award. All three awards recognize excellence in the remediation and re-use of contaminated properties. The Phoenix Awards are the nation's top honors recognizing excellence in brownfield redevelopment.

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• Neighborhood revitalization is being initiated at a number of levels. City-directed reinvestment has helped to reinvigorate the Third Ward, City Homes, and the Martin Luther King corridor. At the grassroots level, Walnut Way, Johnsons Park, Clarke Square, Lindsay Heights, and Teutonia Gardens are five of a number of neighborhood redevelopment initiatives. Two projects include significant philanthropic funding to create quality of life plans that will augment the City's Area Plans. These, will in turn, be expanded to include ten neighborhoods.

• The City recognizes and values its cultural and neighborhood heritage, and has committed to preserving traditional neighborhoods, industrial character, sustainable design, preservation and restoration of open space and waterways, and the redevelopment of essential infrastructure.

DOWNTOWN

Milwaukee’s downtown core has become more vibrant and active over the past decade, a trend that continues today. Downtown has always been and should remain the city’s commercial core and economic engine, providing a disproportionate property tax base relative to its small geographic area, serving as home for major employers and destination venues such as the Bradley Center, Midwest Airlines Center, and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Over 2,400 housing units in new residential buildings have been constructed, significantly adding to the city skyline. Major office development has enlivened Schlitz Park, with the additions of Manpower and Time Warner. The Grand Avenue Mall has been reinvented, through the addition of ASQ and the addition of housing. New and revitalized destinations like the Pabst Theater, Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World, and new clubs and restaurants, have enhanced the vitality and number of downtown destinations. The exciting Downtown RiverWalk and associated redevelopment have completely transformed the river corridor, bringing riverfront outdoor cafes and close to three miles of urban public walking trails. This river corridor serves the city well, not only as a source of natural resources but, just as importantly, for attractive commercial business and residential living opportunities.

A second major redevelopment initiative, the removal of the Park East freeway spur, has provided over 60 acres of land available for downtown redevelopment. Park East projects in progress or completed include: The Housing Authority’s Convent Hill senior housing development; North End residential development; the Park East Square Hotel; The Moderne residential building; the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Kern Center for athletics and health; the Aloft hotel; and the Flatiron residential building. These projects, while only the beginning to complete the total Park East vision of dense, urban mixed-use redevelopment, will continue the upward trajectory of the intensification of land use in the heart of the city.

URBAN DESIGN

Milwaukee’s strong urban form is part of its history and reflects the ongoing development of housing, commerce, and transportation systems that underscore its urban heritage. The city celebrates its unique urban assets and continues to build upon its strengths as the core of a major metropolitan area by creating places with lasting value and civic pride. Good urban design principles combined with the city’s rich architectural heritage will further enhance a high quality of life for Milwaukee’s residents and visitors. The City maintains high expectations for excellent, context-sensitive urban design that will instill a sense of pride and belonging among all its residents, businesses, and visitors. To help preserve and expand good urban form, Milwaukee’s City Plan Commission has adopted four Principles of Urban Design:

• Neighborhood compatibility which considers physical character and scale, linkages, patterns, and context sensitive development.
• Pedestrian friendly design which helps to define street edges, enhance the pedestrian experience and create a memorable place.
• Land use diversity to encourage a mix of uses at the neighborhood scale.
• Transportation diversity to accommodate pedestrians, bicycles, automobiles, and public transit.

RENEWAL PLANS, PROGRAM AREAS, and REINVESTMENT DISTRICTS

The City has demonstrated its commitment to urban revitalization and reinvestment through a number of land use planning, zoning, financing, and redevelopment tools. Renewal plans, redevelopment projects and program areas, and reinvestment districts are three such tools intended to substantially increase the property tax base and to encourage land uses that will provide significant employment opportunities.

The City’s first renewal plan was created in the 1960s for the lower Third Ward.

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The City’s use of renewal plans expanded to include the following initiatives: • Beerline B is a former industrial corridor located along the Milwaukee River from Pleasant Street to Humboldt Avenue. Today it is home to some of the most visually exciting urban development in Milwaukee. Redevelopment of the Beerline B also includes several connections between the Brewers Hill and Riverwest neighborhoods and the Milwaukee River, including Kilbourn and Kadish Parks, Booth Street Stairs and the Milwaukee Rowing Club. • The Park East redevelopment plan identified the elevated Park East freeway as a blighting influence that inhibited development on nearby parcels just north of downtown. The freeway was removed to reconnect city streets, reintegrate neighborhoods, and create more than 24 acres for mixed use redevelopment and new tax base. • The Port of Milwaukee redevelopment plan strives to complement the Milwaukee 7 goal of promoting water industries, assisting in the redevelopment of brownfields, improving public access to the waterfront, and creating jobs. • The Century City redevelopment plan for the former Tower Automotive / A.O. Smith site, will lead to brownfield redevelopment, new housing, opportunities for industrial and commercial use, job training, and educational opportunities. The intent is to provide much needed jobs in the near north area of the city.

The table on the following page provides a brief summary of the variety of revitalization tools used by the City of Milwaukee. Please refer to the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development website for more detailed information.

LAND REUSE

Milwaukee has received a number of awards and accolades for its commitment to redevelopment of underutilized and vacant properties as a strategy to revitalize neighborhoods and districts and to capitalize on reusing existing built infrastructure. Milwaukee was built on a long and productive industrial legacy that was most concentrated along rail lines and water corridors (the Menomonee Valley and the 30th Street Industrial corridor are two notable examples), but also dispersed throughout the city over the years. That legacy, however, has also resulted in brownfield sites ranging from small corner gas stations to huge former industrial plants such as the 84-acre Tower Automotive / A.O. Smith site purchased by the City in 2009. The principal concern with brownfield sites is the potential hazard to human health and the environmental contaminants left by former users. In addition, brownfields are often blights to the surrounding neighborhood and are difficult to redevelop due to liability issues and the high costs of environmental testing and cleanup. On the other hand, many brownfield properties have reverted to City ownership through tax-delinquency, which gives the City leverage and control over what happens with these properties. The City of Milwaukee regularly targets resources to transform unproductive properties into new, property-tax generating uses. The City staffs a specialized environmental team, manages environmental services, seeks funding and financing opportunities through the state, MEDC, and RACM, and provides assistance to private developers who are interested in redevelopment opportunities. The city has also been focused on integrating sustainable practices into redevelopment projects, such as the stormwater management park and sustainable development guidelines in the Menomonee Valley.

Malls and other retail properties that are economically and physically ready for redevelopment and that require significant public and private-sector intervention for revitalization are referred to as greyfields. The City is committed to finding new productive uses for these properties, as exemplified by the successful redevelopment of the former vacant and under performing Capitol Court mall into Midtown Center. Greyfield redevelopment opportunities exist across the city, such as the former Northridge Mall (now Granville Station) and outdated strip malls along major transportation corridors. Redevelopment of these retail districts often benefits the surrounding neighborhood as well.

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Revitalization Tools

OPPORTUNITIES

1. Strong historic development patterns and community assets.

The City of Milwaukee consists of a vibrant combination of engaging and close knit neighborhoods, a diverse population, many opportunities for arts and culture, an integrated transportation system, and a generous network of parks and open space systems. Many community based organizations that have served these neighborhoods provide as an example for the stabilization and strengthening of other neighborhoods. Milwaukee has a rich and varied natural resource base as well as a community of arts, culture, and history supporters that improves the quality of life of the city.

2. Wide variety of land and facilities available for redevelopment.

Vacant and underutilized properties, such as Park East and the 30th Street Industrial Corridor, provide opportunities for redevelopment. The City and Redevelopment Authority (RACM) have demonstrated success redeveloping underutilized or inappropriate uses into new uses that stimulate economic activity, such as the Menomonee Valley, Beerline B, the Third Ward, and the Pabst Brewery. The Housing Authority has shown similar success redeveloping residential properties using traditional neighborhood and sustainable strategies to create better living environments. Further, the City and its community partners are committed to maintaining and revitalizing an industrial land use base, and have had significant success with projects such as the Menomonee Valley Industrial Park that demonstrate a serious commitment to redeveloping vacant, underutilized, and brownfield properties. The successful redevelopment of these parcels also creates momentum for neighborhood and economic revitalization near these projects and in other parts of the city. These properties present opportunities new uses that support strong, sustainable communities including mixed use and transit oriented development projects.

3. The City’s focus on water resources.

Lake Michigan and the three major river systems across the city form a strongnatural resource foundation that the city can capitalize on for economic development and enhancing quality of life. Balancing economic development goals with the preservation and protection of valuable natural assets is critical to a sustainable and prosperous future for Milwaukee. The city’s location on Lake Michigan, coupled with businesses and organizations focused on clean water technology, provides a solid basis for supporting the continued development of water related industries, research and development. Appropriate use and development of the lakefront, such as the Henry W. Maier Festival Park, the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge relocation, Municipal Pier and waterfront development, continue to be discussed.

4. Future land use and catalytic redevelopment projects.

The 13 Area Plans covering the entire City of Milwaukee provide detailed land use recommendations and catalytic projects actions for all of the city. Within each Area Plan are recommendations for major districts and corridors as well as catalytic projects intended to stimulate neighborhood redevelopment and investment. The diagram and associated chart on the following pages indicates the locations and descriptions of these catalytic projects which represent anticipated changes to the City of Milwaukee’s future land use scenario.

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City of Milwaukee Future Land Use Diagram

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Land Use

• Single Family
• Duplex
• Multi-Family & Condominium
• Commercial
• Industrial
• Open Space
• Institutional
• Transportation, Communication, and Utilities

Area Plan Catalytic Projects

(00) Recommended Land Use Change [00] No Recommended Land Use Change

Data Source: Department of City Development

Future Land Use

Future Land Use (continued)

Future Land Use (continued)

Future Land Use (continued)

CHALLENGES

1. Accommodating growth and land use change and to adapt to a changing economy and population.

By its very nature, the urban community is constantly in flux through changes in population, economics, the need for and location of land uses, and the natural growth and decline of businesses and neighborhoods. Until recently, the city’s population has been declining, and the region’s population has been increasingly dispersed, which impacts a number of other city resources such as attendance at cultural events, business and home occupancy and ownership, availability of an educated workforce, and tax revenue. Growing Milwaukee will require the city to work diligently to retain existing residents and businesses and attract new residents and businesses by providing a range of housing and transportation options, a vibrant urban environment, a competitive business climate, and opportunities for people at all levels of income, education, ability and economic advantage.

The city is challenged to stimulate economic development while conserving the quality and integrity of existing neighborhoods, commercial districts, and local landmark institutions. The city must adapt to change, address blight, vacancy, at risk neighborhoods and businesses, and the legacy of former industrial land uses for current and future users. The city must also accommodate and promote the need for change within its procedures, regulations, and guidelines to streamline the development process, allow flexibility and creative development programs within its zoning code, and consider easing regulatory disincentives to development while continuing to protect the health and welfare of the population. A diverse and robust set of incentives is also critical to stimulating economic development and investment. These could include updating facilities and infrastructure, making land available for redevelopment in appropriate circumstances, and providing financial support in situations where the market will not support all of the public interest portion of a development.

A brownfield is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. - United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

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Strengthening and enhancing commercial and industrial districts is also critical to city development. Several neighborhoods are facing an increase in vacancies in vital commercial districts and corridors, including big box retailers, former automobile dealerships, former manufacturing facilities, and retail malls. ‘Surplus’ schools present a different but related challenge of finding creative, productive uses for underutilized space. While these vacancies present significant challenges for the city, they also offer redevelopment opportunities for new uses that can enhance tax base, provide jobs and promote new and emerging industries. At the neighborhood level, balancing national enterprises, such as big box and national chain retailers, with smaller, locally owned businesses can help create the right mix of commercial uses while still providing a substantial local market for homegrown businesses.

2. Creating and sustaining vibrant, healthy, and safe neighborhoods.

As with most cities, Milwaukee’s community fabric is a mix of neighborhoods with varying degrees of stability, vitality, safety, and quality. Some neighborhoods thrive with new development, successful businesses, and stable housing stock and ownership. Others struggle with significant blight, crime, unemployment, vacancies. The once thriving 30th Street Industrial Corridor, for example, now requires significant reinvestment from the City and community partners to retain and attract new businesses and jobs, to increase safety and security, and to train and stabilize the local workforce for existing and future jobs.

Careful context-sensitive integration of land uses that supports the social and economic fabric of the community is critical to achieving successful neighborhoods that provide a high quality of life for a diversity of people, businesses, and visitors. An appropriate land use program can help foster job growth, provide needed goods and services within a reasonable distance of residents and businesses, achieve densities and mixes of land use that support public transit and active neighborhood centers, and provide a high quality of life for all residents.

Appropriate city land use and development practices must allow and encourage development that will strengthen neighborhoods and create synergies to achieve these goals. For example, new development with higher residential density can provide the customer base necessary to support a healthy neighborhood retail district. A functional and fiscally stable public transit system requires higher density development around public transit stations, which is not currently supported by the City’s

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zoning code. This may require the city to allow a mix of densities and uses, more compact development, rezoning, and reinvestment. The City should also consider changes to the current zoning ordinance, to support a mix of uses and compatible forms within neighborhoods.

Creating desirable, sustainable neighborhoods requires the development of strong, high quality planning and urban design standards that protect the character, integrity, and qualities that make Milwaukee neighborhoods great. It also requires cooperation and collaboration between the public and private sectors.

3. Coordinating land use, transportation, and infrastructure planning.

Coordination of land use with transportation investments is necessary to strengthen the connections between jobs, housing, and transportation that are critical to a vibrant urban environment. Placing public transit stops near jobs and housing to shorten travel distances to employment centers requires a coordinated effort by public and private entities. Connecting people to jobs that are farther away is equally challenging, and requires the provision of transportation options that are accessible, efficient, and attractive to users. While strong street and highway infrastructure remains essential to the city’s success, transportation goes well beyond providing streets and parking lots, since driving is a luxury not available to everyone and since there are indirect costs to the urban environment assumed by everyone, as well as the impacts of auto emissions on climate change. Providing multiple options for getting from place to place requires significant investments in infrastructure, as well as a land use program that supports and is in turn supported by that infrastructure. The City must realistically evaluate and support transportation options to foster positive development even as additional transportation options are in the process of being developed.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS

1. Convenient access to goods and services for daily needs, such as groceries and child care
2. A variety of transportation options and routes for people of all abilities
3. A diversity of housing choices to meet the needs of a diverse population
4. Public spaces that are clean, safe, and engaging, including parks, open space, the natural environment, trails, play lots, and public plaza
5. Equitable and convenient access to public services and facilities, including safe schools, libraries, recreation and community centers, police and fire protection, and public maintenance, cleanliness, and investmen
6. Distinctive neighborhood character, diversity, and a “sense of place”, which includes historic, cultural, and natural resources, trees and landscaping, and safe and attractive streets and other public spaces
7. A sense of pride, ownership, stewardship, and responsibility for the community, its residents, and the future City of Milwaukee.

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POLICIES

I. USE A TARGETED CATALYTIC APPROACH TO PLAN LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT TO MEET AND STIMULATE EXISTING AND FUTURE MARKET DEMAND FOR RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND INDUSTRIAL USES AND TO STRENGTHEN THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL ECONOMY. The location and relation of the city’s land use combined with the details of its land development program significantly impact economic activity, strength, and competitiveness. Land use and development can help strengthen the city’s position as the economic and cultural center of southeastern Wisconsin.

A. Use the city’s land control and development review process to encourage new sustainable development, investment, and economic activity

1. Provide a central location for information and a regularly updated map showing land use and areas that are targeted for reinvestment and development

2. Continue to streamline the development review and permitting process and enhance the e-permit program to be accessible, understandable, and easy to use

3. Examine city standards that may act as disincentives for redevelopment of industrial and commercial lands. Modify disincentives and adopt positive incentive measures, such as density or floor area ratio bonuses

4. Improve marketing of city owned property for redevelopment and commercial real estate opportunities, and promote the competitive advantages of Milwaukee sites

5. Provide incentives and flexible zoning in designated areas to encourage denser, more compact development near public transit stations and commercial hubs, along major transportation corridors, and near downtown. Manage the transition between these higher density areas and lower density residential neighborhoods

6. As feasible, work with developers to contribute to open space, affordable housing, sustainable practices, historic preservation, or other community benefits in exchange for additional development density or other benefits

7. Continue to strengthen and utilize the capabilities of HACM, RACM, MAWIB, MEDC, and NIDC to implement City priorities and to improve city resources

8. Expand or create additional neighborhood investment zones (BID, TIF, TIN, etc.) and tap into Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to encourage and help finance priority redevelopment efforts

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B. Balance and coordinate land use, development and infrastructure investment decisions to make efficient use of existing city infrastructure, utilities, services, and resources

1. Plan land use to create neighborhoods with a balance of jobs and housing, encourage people to live close to where they work, and connect jobs and housing via efficient, accessible, and affordable transportation systems

2. Dedicate resources to provide land use opportunities that are consistent with area plan recommendations for districts, corridors, and catalytic projects

3. Plan land use, infrastructure, utilities, and public services together so that one does not outpace the capacity of the other. Provide adequate facilities to support new development, and maintain, upgrade, and maximize use of existing utility systems, infrastructure, services, and facilities before extending or expanding these systems

4. Encourage “infill” development in areas where adequate utilities and services are already in place, that offer opportunities for increased density and more amenities, and that broaden the variety of compatible uses. Accommodate the reuse and redevelopment of underutilized, closed, decommissioned, or obsolete institutional, commercial, and industrial spaces as walkable, mixed use developments or other uses appropriate to the surrounding community

5. Coordinate land use planning with transportation, public utility and infrastructure construction and improvement. An appropriate spatial distribution of land uses will maximize the economical provision of transportation, utility and public facility services

6. Direct new development to enhance the tax base and stimulate economic development while minimizing adverse impacts on residential areas, neighborhood integrity, and open space

7. Discourage disinvestment practices that harm neighborhoods and commercial districts, i.e. vacant storefronts, code violations, excessive security measures, litter, debris, unmaintained landscaping, or improper use of parking areas and yards

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C. Strengthen commercial and industrial centers, districts, and corridors and expand commercial and industrial activity

1. Strengthen commercial and mixed use districts, quality retail developments serving neighborhoods, and key intersections as centers of economic activity through the use of planned development and overlay zones, infrastructure improvements, and reinvestment zones. Expand the use of ‘Main Street’ practices as an organizing concept for strengthening neighborhood commercial districts and integrate both positive day and evening activities into commercial centers

2. Preserve industrial land uses and revitalize the industrial economy for a changing global and regional economy. Consider clean and green industries, clean water technology, research and development, and eco-industrial parks as redevelopment options for vacant and underutilized industrial property. Support the industrial employment base by allowing and encouraging limited commercial development near industrial districts that complement the needs of employees and businesses

3. Assemble, update facilities and infrastructure, remediate, and retrofit industrial parcels for new commercial and industrial business and employment

4. Enhance the image and aesthetics of industrial districts, as feasible, with appropriate, uniform signage, landscaping, and streetscape enhancements. Consider using the industrial legacy of the area as an icon and a point of pride for district character

5. Consider the campus, park, main street, and town square style of development for industrial, business, and commercial districts. Characteristics include a mix of uses, a connected and walkable street grid, landscaping, smaller parcels, interior atriums or courts, seating areas, and attractive streetscapes. Where feasible and appropriate, integrate these districts into the surrounding community through appropriate land use and design

6. Integrate residential, office, retail, civic, institutional, cultural, and open space uses into commercial areas to accommodate current and future needs of the neighborhood. Consider creative combinations of uses within the mixed-use designation rather than the typical ground floor retail with residential above

7. Allow flexibility within commercial and industrial land uses to allow non-traditional forms of business such as home offices and live-work spaces, to encourage existing businesses to branch out into new areas of activity, to encourage development and concentration of economic activity, and to facilitate firms with functional linkages to locate in close proximity to one another

8. Support context sensitive and sustainable parking strategies that support businesses while encouraging alternative modes of travel and the most effective and efficient use of land. Examine the market and economies of parking in relation to locational choices for businesses

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II. COORDINATE LAND USE, TRANSPORTATION, AND PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING.

Land use patterns that complement and support a multi-modal transportation system will improve the movement of people, goods and services, reduce dependence on the automobile, improve air quality, and improve the city’s resiliency.

A. Develop a coordinated land use and transportation plan for the city that considers the location, density, and access to housing, commerce and industry, daily needs and services, parks and open space (including community gardens), and community, institutional, and civic facilities

1. Allow flexibility in land use that can be supported by and in turn support a comprehensive transportation system designed to efficiently move people, goods, and services

2. Plan land use to support alternative transportation services and choices, such as bus rapid transit, walking and bicycling, and light, heavy, and commuter rail

3. Promote a safe, comfortable bicycle and pedestrian friendly environment that encourages bicycling and walking within and between neighborhoods and other destinations

4. Adopt the updated Citywide Bike Plan and ensure that natural, cultural, arts, civic, and institutional destinations are reflected within the planned system

5. Maintain, expand and enhance the integrity of the city’s walkable, well-connected street grid

6. Support current uses and consider possible future uses of the city’s rail lines in land use plans and decisions

7. Identify, preserve, and enhance the city’s green infrastructure system of parks, waterways, and open space as a pedestrian and bicycle transportation network. Focus on completing the network for the Lake Michigan lakefront, the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers, and Hank Aaron State Trail

8. Recognize that easily accessible and affordable infrastructure for automobile and truck traffic, including necessary parking and loading facilities, remain essential components of successful developments

B. Encourage mixed-use, higher density land use around public transit stations and networks

1. Design high traffic public transit station areas as neighborhood centers supporting higher densities and a mix of residential and commercial land uses, employment opportunities, and other uses such as institutions, educational facilities, and civic uses

2. Encourage the concentration of jobs and housing in areas well served by multiple transportation options

3. Encourage mixed-use, transit-oriented development that makes effective use of existing transportation infrastructure, supports public transit stations, increases public transit patronage, promotes walking, reduces impact on the environment, and encourages vibrant neighborhood centers

4. Create a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zoning district around public transit hubs that support higher residential and commercial densities and a greater diversity of housing types, including both market-rate and affordable units and housing for seniors and others with mobility impairments

5. Integrate public transit shelters and other transit-oriented services and amenities near public transit stops to encourage their expanded use

III. SUSTAIN, RESTORE, AND ENHANCE THE LIVABILITY, CHARACTER, AND STABILITY OF MILWAUKEE'S NEIGHBORHOODS.

Strong neighborhoods are the hearts and minds of the community. A balanced diversity of land use helps provide the social, physical, and economic needs of different income levels, ages, life stages, and backgrounds within the community. Neighborhood centers and corridors provide focal points for commercial investment, employment, and community activity. Urban design standards can help articulate the unique physical character of Milwaukee’s traditional neighborhoods, promote development compatible with existing structures and the natural environment, and improve the vitality, appearance, and security of streets and public spaces.

A. Adopt citywide standards and guidelines that enhance the health, safety, convenience, stability and quality of neighborhoods and improve the quality of life for residents and stakeholders

1. Clarify and update the Zoning Ordinance and related ordinances, regulations and procedures to be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Citywide Policy Plan and Area Plans and the diverse and changing needs of current and future residents and visitors

2. Consider the inclusion of non-Euclidian approaches to land and development guidelines. Consider form-based or hybrid codes that zones areas by building type and site design as well as use, and flexible zoning that allows use to change with demand. Allowing owners to determine use allows for uses to change over time as the needs of the community change

3. Illustrate zoning regulations and design goals to provide clear visual representations of development goals

4. Adopt and implement Area Plans and recommendations for districts, corridors, and catalytic projects. Update these plans regularly in partnership with residents and other stakeholders

5. Promote land use patterns and traditional neighborhood designs that support the economic health and stability of neighborhoods and easy access to employment, education, social gathering places and services. Encourage people to live near where they work through incentives and land use planning

6. Allow a limited number of compatible non-residential uses within residential districts or mixed use commercial districts, as appropriate. These uses may include the establishment of small scale, neighborhood retail such as corner stores offering healthy food choices, live-work units, home offices, and studios that can be operated in a way that does not have a negative or detrimental impact on the surrounding neighborhood

7. Ensure that all residents have a safe, secure, clean, and healthy living environment that provides well maintained streets and sidewalks, visual and physical access to air, light, and open space, and an environment free from the adverse effects of noise, vibration, traffic, and odors and other contaminants

8. Ensure that all residents have convenient access to healthy food options (restaurants, groceries, and produce) within residential districts, and encourage the development of community gardens, urban agricultural initiatives, urban orchards, and local farmers markets

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B. Encourage the development of community focal points around key neighborhood assets

1. Identify key neighborhood assets and strengths and use a multi-faceted approach to address the assets and strengths of struggling neighborhoods, such as those employed by Neighborhood Improvement Districts, Target Investment Neighborhoods, and other assistance programs

2. Preserve, enhance, and incorporate educational facilities, institutional uses, and services as key neighborhood elements and centers of public activities

3. Consider the establishment of School Improvement Districts (SIDs) to revitalize physical, programming, and curriculum needs of neighborhood schools as social centers of the community

4. Consider reusing underutilized institutional or industrial facilities for new institutional, civic, or other neighborhood-compatible uses or services such as community centers and health facilities

C. Ensure that neighborhoods are unique, beautiful, and engaging for a diversity of residents, businesses, and visitors

1. Encourage the planning and development of land uses that create or preserve varied and unique urban neighborhoods with a distinct sense of place. Consider marketing and branding neighborhoods to promote them

2. Prioritize the preservation and development/redevelopment of beautiful and vibrant neighborhoods, boulevards, major transportation corridors, and community gateways through appropriate streetscaping, landscaping, façade improvements, maintenance, and other practices. Control the size and character of billboards, signage, communication towers, and other elements that may have a detrimental effect on the visual qualities and character of neighborhoods

3. Design and manage public sidewalks, parks, and streetscapes so that they enhance the function and aesthetics for businesses and pedestrians and encourage shoppers in commercial districts. Locate and design utilities within the street right-of-way to minimize negative impacts on the physical and visual pedestrian environment. Ensure that pedestrian routes are safe, attractive, and convenient, and incorporate traffic calming streetscape designs, particularly in commercial districts

4. Promote the provision, equitable distribution, and access to well designed, programmed, and maintained public open spaces and recreational facilities. Consider establishing community greens, parks, and gardens as focal points within residential areas

5. Allow creative temporary or permanent reuse of the city's vacant and underutilized land for productive uses such as community gardens, urban agriculture, stormwater management, energy generation, and neighborhood greenspace, provided there is reasonable oversight by a responsible party, such as Milwaukee Urban Gardens or Growing Power. Encourage neighborhoods to share responsibility and take ownership over care and maintenance of vacant land and structures

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D. Strengthen and highlight the city’s downtown central business district as a regional center of activity, economy, and social gathering

1. Continue to reinvest, revitalize, and improve the central downtown and lakefront area as the thriving heart of business, government, hospitality, and entertainment for the City and the region

2. Encourage a full range of housing opportunities to be located in or near downtown

3. Support the continued restoration, revitalization, and redevelopment of the Lake Michigan waterfront and river corridors as a focal point for Milwaukee’s recreational, entertainment, environmental activities. Include active and passive recreation, open space, habitat, entertainment, social gathering space, natural beauty. Balance residential and commercial development with public use and natural resource preservation

4. Strengthen connections and access between the lakefront, Maier Festival Park, and downtown neighborhoods

5. Maintain a regulatory environment that is friendly to business, entertainment and recreational venues downtown and along the lakefront

E. Develop and adopt illustrated urban design standards that promote high quality, context sensitive, sustainable, market-competitive, and traditional neighborhood designs

1. Develop and adopt illustrated design guidelines and pattern books for selected residential areas and commercial districts that ensure a consistent character while allowing flexibility and creativity

2. Preserve neighborhood character and integrity, development densities, street grid, block size, development pattern and land uses where these are compatible with the neighborhood vision and context. Changes in land use and density that contribute to the positive development of the neighborhood should blend with the surrounding neighborhood and land use

3. Encourage preservation and development that is sensitive to the city’s history and culture. Include the preservation and enhancement of significant historic and cultural features, spaces, landscapes, structures, and resources

4. Ensure that quality and excellence are demonstrated in the design of public spaces and buildings. Use redevelopment opportunities and capital improvement projects, particularly those that are highly visible, widely publicized, or catalytic projects, as opportunities to demonstrate sustainable practices and high quality urban design. Establish minimum design and sustainability standards for projects receiving City financial assistance

5. Establish a high quality public realm featuring public squares, parks, and public art

6. Coordinate programing and project design efforts with other City departments and agencies such as the Housing Authority, the Redevelopment Authority, and local community development corporations

7. Continue and expand the Mayor’s Design awards to provide recognition for outstanding urban design, preservation of neighborhood integrity, and sustainable design

8. Employ Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies in development and redevelopment projects

CITY OF MILWAUKEE PRINCIPLES OF URBAN DESIGN

Good urban design guidelines can reinforce and protect those unique qualities that characterize Milwaukee’s neighborhoods. The following principles are meant to promote development and redevelopment that reinforce and preserve the best characteristics of the city. Urban design guidelines typically consider a range of issues from neighborhood character, pedestrian-friendly design, transportation, public safety, and context-sensitive design. The City should adopt and encourage the application of urban design guidelines citywide, while allowing flexibility within districts, neighborhoods, and corridors for local organizations to develop their own unique identity and additional guidelines as needed. The Department of City Development has developed a set of four Urban Design Principles to help guide development.

PRINCIPLE #1: NEIGHBORHOOD COMPATIBILITY

A cohesive neighborhood environment depends on buildings that complement one another. The size, shape and location of buildings as well as the uses contained within them, create “patterns” that define neighborhood character. New development should be compatible with the pattern of its surrounding context.

Development that adheres to this principle will: A. Relate to the physical character and scale of the neighborhood B. Enhance linkages to surrounding uses, especially public services and amenities (schools, parks, public transit)

PRINCIPLE #2: PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY DESIGN

Cities are for people, and an environment designed to accommodate the pedestrian heightens human experience and sense of place. New development should be designed to create attractive, comfortable and safe walking environments.

Development that adheres to this principle will: A. Locate buildings to define street edges and corners B. Enliven street frontages to enhance the pedestrian experience C. Create memorable places for people

PRINCIPLE #3: LAND USE DIVERSITY

Many Milwaukee neighborhoods are comprised of a rich mix of land uses. Such diversity uses land efficiently, provides for neighborhood convenience and contributes to unique urban experiences.

Development that adheres to this principle will: A. Encourage a compatible mix of uses at the neighborhood scale B. Identify opportunities for shared uses

PRINCIPLE #4: TRANSPORTATION DIVERSITY

Milwaukee’s neighborhoods are connected by a functional circulation network of streets and blocks. This system should be maintained and improved in ways that accommodate various modes of transportation balanced with needs for pedestrians.

Development that adheres to this principle will: A. Create a balanced circulation system that accommodates mobility choice (pedestrians, automobiles, bicycles and public transit) B. Enhance public transportation by making it more comfortable and convenient to use