PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Port Washington's Plan Commission has rejected a proposal for multi-family housing on a vacant downtown parcel for the second time, a move neighbors near the Harbor Campus say signals their concerns are being heard.
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The commission voted down a revised concept plan this week that would have created 135 units across a mix of three-story apartment buildings and duplexes.
"I will vote nay," Mayor Ted Neitzke said during the Oct. 15 Plan Commission meeting. "Motion fails for a lack of a majority."
It marked the second attempt for developer Port Ventures LLC, which received poor reviews from both commissioners and neighbors during Thursday's meeting.
The vacant parcel sits inside an older neighborhood of Port Washington. Many of the homes are several decades old.
The rejection comes amid a wave of development in the city, including a newly opened public safety building and two separate apartment and condo projects planned for downtown.
Neighbors near the Harbor Campus have raised concerns about traffic and flooding since the first proposal came in February. Among their objections were the burden of losing privacy, increased noise and questions about whether the project addressed groundwater problems. Some of them told the plan commission they would rather see the parcel become a park.
"Does this project really fit the community?" one neighbor asked during public comment at Thursday's meeting. "I think most of us would say no it doesn't."
Megan Lacke, who lives on the corner of the parcel in question, remembers visiting Port Washington as a child to fish. She said the development did not fit the area.
"It's just such a big project going into our already established neighborhood," Lacke said. "Our council members, and I think they really took into effect, our opinions, our questions and concerns."
Thursday's decision does not sink the project altogether, as concept plans are not binding. And Ozaukee County as a whole still needs more housing. But it is a signal that the local government is listening — something neighbors have been waiting for.
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