Proposal to Tie Banquet Hall to Wedding Chapel Denied — Again

With concerns from neighboring residents about parking, safety and a myriad of other issues not going away, the Greenfield Common Council to prevent a local wedding chapel owner from expanding his business to include a banquet hall.

On Tuesday, alderpersons voted 4-1 to deny Jeff Kohl’s special use permit request – again – that would have allowed him to serve alcohol in a private, 1,100-square-foot banquet room in space adjacent to his , 9008 W. Forest Home Ave.

“I don’t think it’s fair to the people who live on this street,” Alderman Thomas Pietrowski said. “They bought their houses knowing that there was a business by them but they didn’t know they’d be impacted by parking and all these other issues.”

Kohl’s request first came in front of the council Feb. 22 and it was denied, 4-1, amid concerns from several residents who attended a public hearing. At that hearing, Kohl, who was also in attendance, said he was working with Milwaukee County to alleviate the neighbors’ parking concerns.

At the next meeting, Alderperson Linda Lubotsky, who cast the only vote in favor of the special use request both Tuesday and in February, , stating that Kohl wanted to try to work through his neighbors’ concerns.

On Tuesday, Lubotsky asked for more time for Kohl. But with Tuesday’s vote, Kohl’s request for a banquet hall cannot be reconsidered again.

“The reason why they’re going back to the drawing board is because of the opposition of the neighborhood,” Lubotsky said. “They really don’t want to put in something that’s going to upset people. They’re re-thinking what they’re going to do.

“If we pass this or not, the parking issues aren’t going to change for you people. … Why not meet with the Kohls and work out the parking problems instead of calling the police and coming here. “

Kohl was not in attendance Tuesday, but seven neighbors, several of whom spoke at the public hearing, were and spoke out against Kohl’s proposal, including Barb Hacker, 5070 S. 92nd St.

“When Mr. Kohl purchased the property, he knew it was in a residential area,” Hacker said. “This is not a commercial neighborhood by any means. We’re not the ones attempting to transform a deep-rooted residential area. We agree businesses have a right to be heard, but for a business to adapt to a well-established neighborhood would be the neighborly thing to do.”

James Cvikel, 5090 S. 92nd St., brought several photos of cars parked up and down 92nd Street during a recent wedding ceremony. His wife Angela said since the public hearing, she’s been calling the police to voice her concerns about Kohl’s wedding chapel customers’ parking habits.

“In the nine years I’ve lived there, I’ve never called the police on Mr. Kohl, but since the last meeting I’ve started doing that. … now it’s just utter chaos,” Angela Cvikel said. “It’s not what I envisioned when I bought my house.”

Mayor Michael Neitzke said he wants Kohl to succeed and wants businesses to come to Greenfield.

“But they have to do it in a safe way that blends in with the neighborhood,” he said.