A cornerstone element of Milwaukee's Collective Affordable Housing Strategic Plan is achieving homeownership for more low-income households. The Plan calls for developing and implementing programs and systems to increase and preserve homeownership, with a focus on supporting ow-income households in becoming and remaining homeowners.
Neighborhoods that foster walkability and connectivity can promote healthier, more sustainable and more accessible communities
2024 Habitat for Humanity Home, part of the Early Childhood Educator Homeownership Initiative
Restored duplex in Milwaukee, part of the Homes MKE Initiative
Adaptive reuse of the former McKinley School into 39 affordable apartments
Commercial Node at the intersection of W. Fond du Lac Ave., N. 35th Street, and W. Burleigh St.
Mixed use apartment building with shared outdoor space
Connect1 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stop on Wisconsin Avenue
Rendering of possible transit-oriented-development along a future streetcar route
Applicants for zoning changes should directly engage with potentially impacted neighbors and local neighborhood groups during the pre-development process to share information about pending proposals, seek feedback and respond to community concerns.
The plan is now called Milwaukee's Comprehensive Plan: Housing Element
A
Plan to Increase Housing Choices in Response to Milwaukee’s Housing Shortage
What is Growing MKE?
- Phase 1 - Proposed amendment the Citywide Policy Plan
- Policies & actions related to encouraging housing choice and growth
- Recommendations to update the City’s Zoning Code
- Phase 2 – Implementation – Zoning Code Updates
Comprehensive Planning in Milwaukee
+ Citywide Plan
+ 14 Area Plans
+ Amendments
- Guide future development by setting a collective vision and roadmap for the future.
- Updated based on changing needs in a community.
- For Growing MKE, we looked at how to support evolving housing needs.
We didn’t start from scratch….
Milwaukee’s Zoning Code & Comprehensive Plan are tailored to support:
- walkable neighborhoods,
- mixed-use housing development, &
- housing choice.
Advancing Plan Recommendations and City Goals from several recent planning processes along with the Mayor’s vision for economic prosperity.
Zoning Codes & Maps
- Zoning is a written document of rules and a map that shows what zone each piece of land is part of.
- Each zone has a unique set of rules that guide development – uses & sizes/shape of buildings.
- These zoning rules are laws adopted by the City’s Common Council.
Milwaukee’s Zoning over time
- 1920 – Milwaukee’s first zoning code
- 1951 – A New Zoning Code was adopted with
more regulations - 1960s – Newly annexed areas zoned for low densities
- 1985 – Zoning Code updated
- 2002 – A New Zoning Code was adopted
- 2002-2022 – Ongoing technical updates and periodically, more in-depth updates have been made based on plan recommendations
- 2023 – Growing MKE process began
What does zoning for housing look like in Milwaukee?
40% of residentially zoned parcels allow only one housing unit
More than ½ of residentially zoned parcels allow 2+ housing units, including areas of the City with the largest numbers of vacant lots
Multi-family housing is allowed in ALL commercial districts, corridors, and downtown.
What does zoning for housing look like in Milwaukee?
40% of residentially zoned parcels allow only one housing unit
More than ½ of residentially zoned parcels allow 2+ housing units, including areas of the City with the largest numbers of vacant lots
Multi-family housing is allowed in ALL commercial districts, corridors, and downtown.
Why did we take on this project now?
Why Policies + Zoning?
Market Trends
Housing in the Next 20 Years
Advancing Equity in Zoning
Density and Growth are Economic Decisions
Impacts on Emerging and Local Developers
This is just one piece of the puzzle…
Overview of the Planning Process
What does zoning look like in this area?
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City of Milwaukee Zoning Districts that Allow Housing
Zoning Districts
Current Code
Recommendation in Growing MKE
Single-Family & Two-Family Districts
Multi-Family Districts
the recommended change is for how limits on number of units are calculated
Draft, City of Milwaukee, Dec. ‘24
