Plan Commission Grants Wimmer Properties Parking Exception

SHOREWOOD, WI — The Shorewood Plan Commission voted 5-2 Tuesday night to grant a special parking exception to the developer of a luxury apartment building at 4414 Oakland Avenue.

The approval comes after a postponement in July when members of the Commission vocalized a need for more public input in the process. At the tail end of Tuesday's meeting, members Barbara Kiely Miller and Eric Couto voted to postpone the decision again.

Their measure failed, though, and the exception was passed 5-2.

The discussion was about whether or not an apartment development proposed for Oakland Avenue should construct more parking spaces than one per unit. The building would eventually have 43 units, and each would receive one parking spot.

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Supportive members of the commission such as Village Trustee Tammy Bockhost have asserted the position that parking requirements are outdated. Village Trustee Arthur Ircink, who is not a member of the Commission, also commented on the outcome of the meeting.

"I respect and appreciate the healthy debate we are having on the issue of parking in Shorewood and that was on full display last night at the Plan Commission meeting," Village Trustee Arthur Ircink said in a statement to Patch. "One thing I don't appreciate is the toxic environment online, with opponents to this project personally attacking village staff, community leaders and residents which is so unhealthy for our community.

"The fact is, Shorewood is growing, families are fighting to move into our community. Home prices are skyrocketing making it difficult to move here. Any opportunity we can create for new residents to come to Shorewood, I'm in support of. It's vital that we grow our tax base." Ircink added.

"When looking at this parking exemption, I don't just see cars and buildings, I see people. I see new families to fill our schools and business, people to join our volunteer boards, new friends and new opportunities," he wrote. See Ircink's full statement below.

The public showed up and presented a mixed bag of opinions toward the development at Tuesday's meeting. About 40 people were in attendance. While some members of the public have consistently cited concerns about the development's impact on parking in the village, others have supported the idea.

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One resident, Sam Essak, wrote to the board to express support for reducing parking ratios.

"I am writing to express support for a lower parking ratio for the proposed development on the corner of Oakland and Lake Bluff. I believe an exemption from the current excessively high ratios is justified."

"Please don't encourage more parking structures and more cars. Vote for projects that promote alternative forms of transportation and shared vehicles that will help reduce global warming even in the smallest way," Essak wrote to the board.

One member of the public, Elizabeth Beeghly, said during the meeting she was a former city planner in Portland, Oregon. Beeghly said parking regulations in Portland were repealed in recent years there, and that the impact has been negative.

"I want you to spend time studying what we've learned, lessons learned from areas like Portland, Seattle, Minnesota, what are the lessons learned in those areas?" Beeghly said, "Most of them aren't very positive for what has happened to our small towns."

"I want to keep it a small-town feeling, that's why we moved here," Beeghly added.

Another member of the public, John Kraus, spoke in favor of the parking exception.

"Pretty sure I'm the closest person to this location speaking this evening," Kraus said. He added that he is in favor of the development and parking exception.

"I'm not sure that we want to really be comparing ourselves to places like Portland and other large cities, Kraus said. "Just thought you'd want to know, someone who lives about 200 feet from this development has no problem with the proposed parking reduction."

Other Village residents continued voicing distaste with a reduction in parking exceptions. After the deadline to submit public comment, five other Shorewood residents wrote statements against the parking exception and emailed them to the board.

Oakland Avenue's struggle with parking is not unique. A similar apartment building proposed for Capitol Drive also came under critique from residents, mostly citing concerns with parking.

Check out our ongoing coverage of Shorewood's debate on parking exceptions:

Plan Commission Revisiting Oakland Apartment Parking Exception

Decision Delayed For Luxury Apartment Parking Exception

Luxury Apartment Building Proposed For Oakland Avenue

42-Unit Apartment, 3 Blocks From Atwater: Public Comment Date Set