Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Temporary Industrial Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves two‑month temporary concrete recycling operation at 6000 S. 6th after neighbor complaints
Summary
After hours of testimony about dust, noise and unpermitted activity, the board granted a two‑month special use for a temporary concrete recycling and crushing operation at 6000 S. 6th with strict conditions including limited hours, relocation of equipment and a June 30, 2026 expiration tied to the petitioner’s lease.
The Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals on May 7 granted a two‑month special use allowing a temporary concrete recycling and crushing operation at 6000 South 6th Street, subject to conditions intended to limit noise, dust and street impacts.
Department of Neighborhood Services staff recommended denial, saying the site showed a history of noncompliance and enforcement and that conditions imposed by the board were unlikely to be honored. DNS told the board "the criteria for special use under 295.311 of the city code have not been met," citing visible stockpiles, unpermitted crushers and earlier violations.
The site owner and operator said the project is temporary work tied to an airport concourse demolition contract and that the lease on the property ends June 30, 2026. The applicant said the operation was intended only to recycle demolition material for reuse on the airport project and that "it was never our intention to have to ask forgiveness at all." The owner agreed to move the crushing equipment inward on the lot and to seek measures to limit fugitive dust.
Neighbors described repeated disturbances. "Every morning, I get woke up by that rock crusher," said Foster Finco, who lives across the street. Residents complained of noise, dust coating cars and machinery placed on berms close to homes.
After extended public comment, a board member moved to approve a time‑limited special use for two months to run through June 30, 2026, with conditions including restricted hours, moving crushing equipment away from the street, and a requirement that the operator move the rock crusher by early next week. The motion passed on a roll call vote (yes: 5; no: 0).
The board recorded the conditions as: limit operations to daytime hours (no earlier than 7:00 a.m. and no later than 5:00 p.m.), move crushing equipment away from the street by the next Monday, and relocate piled materials and screening to reduce offsite impacts; the approval is explicitly tied to the petitioner’s lease expiration on June 30, 2026.
The board noted DNS and DPW will continue to monitor compliance and that neighbors should report problems to enforcement staff. The owner said he did not intend to renew the lease and would finish work and vacate the site when the contract is complete.
