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Planning commission recommends broad zoning-code amendments to implement Wauwatosa comprehensive plan
Summary
Staff and consultant Hause Levine presented zoning-code updates to align Title 24 with the comprehensive plan, including character-based districts, missing-middle housing allowances, reduced parking minimums, EV-ready infrastructure incentives and revised ADU rules; the commission unanimously recommended the ordinance to the Common Council.
The Wauwatosa Planning Commission unanimously recommended a package of zoning-code amendments intended to align the city—s Title 24 with the recently adopted comprehensive plan. Staff and consultant Carrie Papelbon of Hause Levine presented targeted changes on housing, parking, accessory units and administrative processes and said the updates were refined through a series of commission workshops and public comment.
Papelbon said the amendments shift district naming toward character-based descriptions, introduce missing-middle housing types (three- and four-unit homes, cottage courts), break multi-unit residential into scale-based categories (5—12 units and 13-plus), and allow small-scale residential in certain commercial districts by right. "Everything that we have been talking about is based on that plan," Papelbon told the commission, explaining the code changes are the regulatory step to implement the plan.
On parking, staff proposed 25% reductions in minimum residential parking for certain mixed-use developments, elimination of minimums within a quarter-mile of the BRT station, and removal of nonresidential parking minimums in many cases while retaining site-design controls. The draft also introduces EV-ready infrastructure requirements for large residential lots (5% to 6% of spaces EV-ready) and expands ADU allowances with modest floor-area increases and clearer standards.
Staff emphasized that the amendments seek to streamline review processes (longer lapses for conditional-use approvals and planning developments, and more staff-level approvals for minor PUD modifications) while preserving design controls. Commissioners praised the process and asked clarifying questions about affordability and regulatory streamlining; staff said incentives for affordable units are built into the draft code.
The commission moved, seconded and voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance to the Common Council for final action on Nov. 18.
