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Landmarks Commission declines comment on decommissioning of Waukesha Water Utility well sites
Summary
After reviewing an architectural-history survey tied to federal Section 106 review for three Waukesha Water Utility sites, the Landmarks Commission expressed no comment, agreeing with staff and SHPO findings that the properties are not eligible for the National Register.
The Waukesha Landmarks Commission opted not to submit comment on an architectural-history investigation of three Waukesha Water Utility properties that the utility proposes to decommission and sell for redevelopment.
Charlie, the commission staff presenter, said the city has transitioned to Lake Michigan water delivered via pipeline from Milwaukee and the Water Utility no longer needs several deep wells. The utility applied for an EPA grant to fund decommissioning. Because the work involves a federal grant, the project triggered a Section 106 review for properties older than 50 years that might be historically significant.
A consultant’s survey recommended the sites were not eligible for the National Register; the State Historic Preservation Office concurred. The three properties reviewed are: 1430 Southeast Avenue (a concrete well structure and two utilitarian storage buildings constructed between 1953 and 1956), 2320 West Sunset Drive (a similar concrete well/reservoir and utilitarian buildings adjacent to a former hospital site), and 223 Southwest Avenue (a small, utilitarian storage building originally constructed in 1930 and located about 600 feet from a named historic property).
Charlie recommended the commission had no comment; commissioners agreed. One commissioner noted that the 223 Southwest Avenue site had limited redevelopment potential due to lot size and zoning and that the structures appeared utilitarian rather than architecturally distinctive.
No formal vote was required; the commission’s lack of comment will be recorded with the Section 106 submission and with the Waukesha County Historical Society, which had been asked for input as part of the standard review process.
