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Resident urges commission to stop sale or boundary rewrite of Blair/Frame Park property; staff gives timeline for National Register boundary adjustment
Summary
During public comment Lisa Selb urged the commission to oppose selling Henry Blair's donated property or rewriting its boundary, citing prior litigation; staff said a UW–Milwaukee consultant will complete a National Register boundary-adjustment application by late November for review early next year.
A Waukesha resident told the Landmarks Commission on Oct. 2 she and local advocates oppose any sale or boundary rewrite of land donated by Henry Blair, saying the city must honor donor intent and avoid repeating past litigation.
"It is of great concern that the city of Waukesha continues to attempt to disregard the wishes and the legal description of land so generously donated by its many benefactors of previous generations," Lisa Selb said during the public-comment period, reading a letter that also urged the commission to reconsider any decision to sell the Blair property to Mandel Company and suggested preserving the site as a public park or green space.
Selb cited a previous dispute involving Friends of Frame Park that reached the Wisconsin Supreme Court and said local advocates would oppose actions inconsistent with the original donation. She identified herself on the record and provided a local address.
Later in the meeting Charlie (city staff) updated the commission on a pending application to adjust the National Register boundary for the Senator William Blair House. Staff said Cultural Resource Management at UW–Milwaukee, which has an existing contract with the city, will prepare the application starting in early October and aims to complete it by the end of November so it could appear on the Historic Preservation Review Board’s February agenda. Charlie said staff will provide the commission with the draft as soon as it is available so commissioners can comment within the timeline.
The commission did not take any formal action on sale or boundary changes at the Oct. 2 meeting; Charlie’s update described the consultant selection and schedule but not a final boundary decision. The public comment and the pending National Register application remain matters for future review.
