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Kenosha zoning board denies county appeal to allow modular placements on detention center grounds
Summary
The zoning board denied Kenosha County’s administrative appeal seeking city approval to place modular housing/placement units on Kenosha County Detention Center grounds, concluding the proposed use is residential and not allowed in the Institutional Park (IP) district.
The Kenosha Zoning Board on June 2025 denied an administrative appeal filed by Kenosha County that sought city approval to site modular housing units on the Kenosha County Detention Center grounds at 477780 Eighth Avenue.
County counsel Joseph Cardone and County Executive Samantha Kirkland told the board the county is responding to separate court orders and needs on-site placement for people under court-ordered supervised release. Cardone said the proposed placement is “consistent with the institutional uses” and emphasized that residents placed there “will be temporarily housed there per court order” and “will have no ability to decide for themselves whether or not they are intending to remain.” He said three judges had ordered some form of placement and the county seeks a lawful site on the detention-center grounds.
The city’s legal team and staff urged denial. Deputy City Attorney Brian Trevosian argued the proposed modular units are residential construction and cited the zoning ordinance’s IP‑district prohibitions on new single-family, two-family and multiple-family residences (section 3.19(g)). Trevosian said the application’s own descriptions — units with “two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room areas” — are plainly residential and therefore not permitted in the IP district.
The board conducted a closed quasi-judicial session under Wisconsin Statute 19.85(1)(a) to deliberate the appeal; after returning to open session the board moved to deny the county’s appeal. The board recorded the motion to deny and the motion carried by recorded vote.
