City Plan Commission recommends housing element amendment, sends plan to zoning committee

The Milwaukee City Plan Commission on June 2 recommended approval of File 240,402 (substitute ordinance A), adopting the housing and neighborhoods element as the housing element of the citywide policy plan and directing implementation. The commission voted to close the public hearing and forward the updated plan to the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, with staff committing to several refinements before that hearing.

The recommendation followed presentations by Sam Leitling, deputy commissioner of the Department of City Development (DCD), and Amy Oth, senior planner, who summarized a year of follow-up engagement since the plan was first heard in July 2024. Leitling said the updated draft reflects a May 1, 2025 draft plan and that the commission was considering the proposed substitute ordinance A. Oth said the department engaged thousands of Milwaukee residents directly and indirectly and produced a benefit-and-harm analysis to guide near-term zoning strategies and mitigation steps.

The updated housing element keeps the plan’s high-level purpose — to guide zoning text changes, policy initiatives and implementation steps — while narrowing several near-term zoning recommendations that had…