City panel delays dam rezoning vote

The Milwaukee Common Council's zoning committee on Tuesday delayed voting on the temporary rezoning of 45.7 acres of land on the west end of Estabrook Park as the first step toward demolishing a deteriorated 1930s-era dam on the Milwaukee River.

After hearing more than 2 1/2 hours of testimony from Milwaukee and Glendale residents on the merits of dam demolition or repair, both Ald. Milele Coggs and Ald. Russell Stamper II said they needed time to review public comments and were not prepared to vote Tuesday.

Ald. James Bohl, chairman of the committee, said he would attempt to schedule a special meeting on Nov. 1 to act on the Estabrook Park rezoning plan before that day's Common Council meeting.

On Oct. 3, County Executive Chris Abele joined Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Executive Director Kevin Shafer in announcing a multi-step rezoning and demolition strategy to end the longstanding dispute in county government over whether to repair or remove the dam.

Abele intends to transfer the parcel temporarily to MMSD if the council approves the rezoning. Pending council approval, the MMSD commission on Monday approved temporary acquisition of the parcel to enable the district to raze the dam.

Most of the parcel would be returned to the county and remain open to the public for recreational use while the dam was being demolished, under the plan. MMSD would return the remaining smaller parcel needed for equipment access to the county for parkland after removal is completed.