The largest undeveloped tract in Bay View could become the city's first comprehensive solar village, if the area's alderman vision comes to fruition.

At a community meeting last week, neighbors gave input on what to do with seven acres of vacant land in Bay View. The city controls the land, which was once the site of the Army Reserve, through the Port of Milwaukee.

There is currently no plan on the books for the site, which borders Lincoln Avenue, Bay Street, Logan Street and Conway Street along the Lake Parkway.

One plan, developed in anticipation of a train station being built as part of the KRM commuter system, envisioned retail and apartments along Bay Street and single-family and duplexes throughout the rest of the site.

Ald. Tony Zielinski says he still thinks the train station plan is the best idea for the land-but with the caveat that proposals feature solar-powered buildings. He says he wouldn't favor any building taller than three-and-a-half stories and would insist that the housing be owner-occupied or high-end rentals costing more than $900 per month.

Solar features would guarantee that the project would cost more than normal developments, he said.

"I want it to be the first solar-powered development in the state of Wisconsin," Zielinski said. "It would put Bay View on the cutting edge."

The term "solar village" is tossed around with many definitions. Zielinski wasn't precise in exactly what he envisions, although he would like any development to have a solar component.

Soldiers Grove, in southwestern Wisconsin, calls itself "America's first solar village." The town's central business district was relocated from the banks of the Kickapoo River to higher ground in 1979 after repeated flooding.

According to the town's Web site, the village passed ordinances that required new buildings be built to specific thermal performance standards twice as stringent as those required by state law at the time. A community-wide "solar access" law was prohibits any building from blocking another building's sunlight. Another law required that all new commercial buildings receive at least half their heating energy from the sun-the first such ordinance in the country.

More then 20 solar buildings opened, including the medical center, pharmacy, community / library building, fire station, post office, a bank, two apartment complexes, an office building, a storage building, two restaurants, a supermarket and five other privately-owned businesses.

A town in South Korea just finished a 40-home complex that is considered the world's first 100 percent solar village.

Some residents at the meeting requested that the space become a dog park or remain vacant green space. Zielinski said Bay View has a good amount of green space now and that holding firm for this to be green is "going to hurt our credibility in protecting more precious spaces."

Zielinski, however, does not oppose allowing the space to be used temporarily as a dog park until a development project comes along, but residents didn't raise that prospect. "I wish they would have," he said.

Planners with the Department of City Development will be compiling citizen input for the area and at least one more community meeting will be scheduled. Zielinski hopes guidelines for project bids would be ready within a few months and figures that putting in solar requirements could make it take some time for the right development to come forward.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by mitchgat on June 17, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (report)

Mike K. - Well stated, especially your last sentence. However, I don't think most of MKE's alderman and unfortunately not even the mayor understands this. Sigh.

Posted by MikeK on June 13, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. (report)

This meeting was not so much an attempt by Zielinksi to gather feedback, but instead he kept bringing up his own proposal and was looking for validation. The 3.5 story limit was his idea that he kept pushing and pushing. Why impose such a limit without even seeing proposals first? You can get a nice 4-6 story building on the eastern edge of that site without harming existing homeowners views. I also find it odd that he wished they would have raised the idea of a temporary dog park. Everything else at that meeting was run by Tony, why wouldnt he have brought up that as well? Lastly, one thing this city needs to realize is that green space in itself is a catalyst for economic development. The property surrounding Millennium Park in Chicago, Central Park in New York, or Lake Park in Milwaukee would be worth half as much if it wasnt for the green space of those parks. You can have green space AND development intertwined while providing a much larger economic impact than just one or the other.

Posted by JWarshy on June 13, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. (report)

Megan. CRG opposed not the Manpower move, but the public money that the Mayor gave them for a free parking structure. But the opposition wasn't even so much about using the public money to lure Manpower, but about the Mayor using the project to funnel more money to a developer. As for Wal-Mart, why did moron McCue oppose the plan? Nobody knows. He wouldn't say. When asked about his opposition, he said no comment. That's unbelievable for an elected official to not give his reasons for a vote. Now they tentatively approve it with the condition of a small parking lot. Wal-Mart is willing to come in and invest a lot of money into this community, and save a development that city leaders have become laughing stocks over, and we still want to thumb our noses at them. Wake up.

Posted by megster37 on June 13, 2008 at 7:15 a.m. (report)

Will someone please explain CRG's "responsible" acumen to me? They vehemently opposed the Manpower (local Fortune 500) company move to Downtown, yet encourage growth for Wal-Mart (southern-run evil empire) in the area? Why haven't these folks been run out of town yet?