Milwaukee’s City Plan Commission unanimously approved a resolution on Monday, Aug. 17, to create a new improvement district in Metcalfe Park.
The resolution to create Neighborhood Improvement District No. 13 and approve the district’s proposed operating plan will now move to the Community and Economic Development Committee and the Common Council for a vote before heading to Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s desk for final approval.
If approved, the Metcalfe Park Neighborhood Improvement District will host its first board election in September.
The improvement district was one of two files approved during the commission’s Monday meeting, representing resident-driven efforts to encourage development and investment in Metcalfe Park during an extended period of commercial disinvestment.
About Metcalfe Park’s efforts to start a new improvement district
Last year, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges announced the neighborhood’s intention to create a neighborhood improvement district.
The quasi-governmental body would allow property owners and homeowners within the district to help fund and manage improvements. A board made up of neighbors will oversee those improvements if the district is approved in the coming months.
Over the past six months, residents and representatives from the Milwaukee Department of City Development met to shape the improvement district’s operating plan, which was submitted in March.
Sally Svetic, an economic development specialist at the Department of City Development, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in April that the inclusive and community-centered format of each meeting resulted in an operating plan that aligns with the neighborhood’s shared vision of utilizing collective action to strengthen community investment in creating a thriving Metcalfe Park.
“The goals of our [neighborhood improvement district] are essentially to compile resources to beautify our neighborhood, to reduce vacancy, to activate community and business engagement, and essentially make Metcalfe Park a thriving place to live,” said Koren Dennison, a Metcalfe Park resident and homeowner.
Dennison, who is running to become a board member of the improvement district, stressed that the process of creating the operating plan has been resident-centered and resident-led.
What is a neighborhood improvement district?
Signed into law in 2006, the 2005 Wisconsin Act 186 gave state municipalities the power to establish one or more neighborhood improvement districts.
These improvement districts allow property owners and residents of assessable residential and commercial properties within specific boundaries to fund and manage enhancements to their neighborhood as approved by a board of neighbors.
All improvement district board members are elected to their position and must also live within the boundaries of the district.
Broadly, neighborhood improvement districts are authorized to undertake improvement, maintenance and promotional efforts. Efforts can include neighborhood improvements, like landscaping, signage and lighting; maintenance services, like trash pickup, sidewalk repairs and snow removal; and promotion of the neighborhood through events, advertising and neighborhood branding.
Proposed activities vary and are tailored to the needs and interests of each neighborhood.
Residents interested in learning more about the improvement district or to express interest in running for a position on the board should contact Metcalfe Park Community Bridges Deputy Director Melody McCurtis at mmccurtis@metcalfepark.org.
April Quevedo covers Metcalfe Park for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Contact: aquevedo@usatodayco.com.
Neighborhood Dispatch reporting is supported by Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Journal Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association, and EnMotive, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: City Plan Commission approves Metcalfe Park improvement district
Reporting by April Quevedo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By April Quevedo, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
