Candidates balance business, neighbors

Ideas ranging from limiting taxes to flexible zoning

By ALAN HAMARI

Posted: Jan. 27, 2010 |(0) Comments

Brookfield will face a number of development issues over the next four years - from dealing with vacant storefronts to attracting businesses and expanding the city's tax base.

The four men - incumbent Mayor Jeff Speaker, Alderman Steve Ponto, Waukesha County Supervisor Thomas Schellinger and former Elmbrook School Board member and former Alderman David Marcello - vying to lead the city during that time have varied perspectives on the topic.

The men will face off in the Feb. 16 mayoral primary, with the top two vote-getters heading to the April 6 general election.

Responsible growth

Having a strong commercial sector can add to the tax base, serve residents' needs, add jobs to the area and help the city fund road and other projects. Opinions often differ about the best way to bring businesses to the city, and then to retain them.

Speaker said the city will need to focus on redevelopment in the coming years, and that any redevelopment efforts need to maintain the quality of Brookfield's "premier neighborhoods."

"We want to make sure that (development) is an asset to our community, not a liability," he said.

He said the city has equipped itself with tools - including zoning changes that allow increased density and taller buildings - to give developers flexibility and attract them to Brookfield, but it's important to take a close look at the appropriate times to use those tools.

Ponto said Brookfield is "a business-friendly community right now," and that he would stick to the high standards the city has now for construction and architectural design.

Ponto said exceptions to existing zoning practices should only be made in areas of the city where redevelopment is slow to occur, not in desirable commercial locations like Bluemound Road.

"I think in our prime commercial areas that there's no need for departing from our established zoning and standards," he said.

A successful commercial sector is a key to the city's success, he said.

"It helps keep the residential property taxes at a reasonable rate."

Schellinger said the city might need to shift its focus back to attracting retail developments to help bolster Brookfield's tax revenue. It's important to make businesses feel welcome in Brookfield, and that can be partly accomplished by providing flexibility to developers, he said.

"I think we need to keep our flexibility open depending on the (design) of a building and the location where it's proposed," Schellinger said. "I don't want to put restrictions on developers coming forward with ideas that will be attractive (to the community)."

Still, he said development and redevelopment proposals in Brookfield likely will be few and far between for a couple of years, until the economy recovers and commercial demand picks back up.

Marcello, a real estate agent, said he wants to make Brookfield more attractive to businesses, and one way to do that is to set a property tax goal of 1.5 percent of assessed value for businesses. He says property taxes in Brookfield are creeping up toward 2 percent of assessed value, something that's more common in surrounding communities like Wauwatosa and Waukesha.

"People move to Brookfield because they want to pay a lower property tax," he said.

Marcello said the city has incentives it can offer to help attract developers, but he said those incentives should be used sparingly.

"Those are tools," he said. "A craftsman uses the right tool for the right situation."

Protecting neighborhoods key

Growth and changes in the city's commercial sector can affect its residential neighborhoods, both positively and negatively. The candidates weighed in on how they would protect homeowners from being adversely affected by development.

Speaker said the city has done a good job of buffering those living near developments. The city takes a stringent approach to site lighting when reviewing plans to "minimize any light pollution in the neighborhoods" and looks for developers to provide trees, bushes and other natural screening, he said.

While not the preferred option, the city allows fencing around some commercial properties to help create that buffer, he said.

Ponto said properly planning uses - for instance, putting multifamily development next to a single-family development - can buffer homes from areas with high-traffic, high-density uses.

"There should be sort of a natural buffer between uses, and you shouldn't have large retail establishments next to residential subdivisions," he said.

Ponto said he likes to see developers use natural buffers like trees and bushes to help protect neighbors, but he's "not big on fences."

Schellinger said the city needs to take a closer look at the impact a development will have - a potential increase in traffic or the effects on the surrounding environment, for instance - when developments come forward.

"I think we need to scrutinize more the secondary cost of development," he said.

Marcello said he thinks the city has done a pretty good job of taking residents into consideration when considering commercial developments and the effect they will have on neighborhoods. Weighting the interests of the neighbors with the city's ability to attract businesses is "a balancing act," he said.

"I think it's important to be compassionate to the people that are most affected by development," Marcello said.