Oak Creek council denies rezoning request for Pennsylvania Avenue corner after resident opposition

The Oak Creek Common Council on Aug. 19 voted to deny an ordinance that would have rezoned two parcels at 7115 and 7123 South Pennsylvania Avenue from B-2 community business and RS-4 single-family residential to B-4 general business. The Planning Commission had recommended denial at its July 8 meeting, citing the parcels’ proximity to homes and the intensity of uses allowed in B-4 zoning.

The rezoning application covered two adjoining parcels at the Hard Corner of Rawson and Pennsylvania avenues; the applicant was listed as Safe Maine Maine Real Estate and the property owner as Mines Real Estate LLC. Community Development Director Christie Lane told the council the parcels combined are about 1.1 acres and that, if rezoned to B-4, the site could allow higher-intensity, highway-oriented uses including fuel sales as a conditional use.

Why it matters: Neighbors said the change was effectively the first step toward a gas station. Blanca Cervantes, who said she owns a home at 7131 South Pennsylvania Avenue, told the council she depends on well water and that a gas station would “threaten the health, safety and quality of life for nearby residents” by risking groundwater contamination and increasing traffic and noise. Several aldermen cited the Planning Commission’s concerns about the intensity of B-4 adjacent to immediately abutting residences and the intersection’s traffic configuration, which narrows from four lanes to two near the site.

Council discussion and outcome: Council members said the Planning Commission’s thorough review and neighborhood context weighed heavily in their deliberations. One alderman who chaired the Planning Commission said commissioners unanimously recommended not changing the district to B-4 because the higher-intensity uses would be incompatible with the nearby rooftops. The council then moved to deny the ordinance; the motion to deny carried on roll call.

What was proposed: During Plan Commission review the applicant submitted a conceptual plan that would have demolished the existing building and house and built a roughly 6,000-square-foot multi-tenant commercial building with a convenience store and up to 10 fueling pumps; fuel sales would have required a separate conditional-use approval if the rezoning had passed. The Planning Commission and multiple council members said that proposed intensity, and the applicant’s ownership of other gas stations in the county, reinforced the neighborhood’s concerns.

Next steps: The denial maintains the existing zoning (B-2 and RS-4). The transcript shows no companion motion to refile or alter the proposal; any future development will require submittal consistent with current zoning or a materially revised proposal that addresses the Planning Commission’s and neighbors’ concerns.

Sources: Public hearing comments and staff presentation from the Aug. 19 Oak Creek Common Council meeting and the Planning Commission record.