Brookfield's proposed Target Store PUBLIC HEARING: Dec. 7, 7:45pm, UPDATE & maps

Would you want to help non-resident drivers cut through your neighborhood, just so they could get to a new proposed shopping center without using your closest busy main streets? Of course not.

Yet the Plan Commission and our City is doing just that with the new Target store proposal for the former Quebecor site on Bluemound, at the Brookfield/Wauwatosa border. Take a look.

The planners are promoting an additional, unnecessary, new street access point, running east/west from Columbia Blvd, (a purely residential street) to (and through) the new shopping center, when there is already adequate access from Bluemound Road!

And why are they pushing this? One reason is for people who might be playing baseball at Krueger Park, who MIGHT want to go to the new Target store after a game. They argue they need an easy way to get there from the park. (Rendering is from Ryan Co., the developer.)

So our planners, and some of the Aldermen on the Common Council, are willing to subject a quiet, single family, residential neighborhood to cut through traffic from the south, for all those who want to avoid the Bluemound and Elm Grove Road intersection. This would include Target Store bound traffic from Greenfield Ave to the south.

Who doesn't want this? Obviously, the neighborhood! But also the developer, Ryan Company.

It is my understanding that Ryan wants something that more closely resembles my cut-and-past efforts pictured here. Yellow indicates existing streets, orange would be new access with arterial lights on Bluemound. (Thanks to MapQuest satellite view and Ryan's rendering.)

Note that Columbia Blvd. does connect to Krueger Park. It would be very simple for those baseball players (who might want to shop after a game) to drive north on Columbia, turn right on Bluemound, travel 300 feet east to the new Target entrance, turn right, drive in and park.

As for the neighborhood itself, there are Greenway Trail connections for walking and biking there and from my neighborhood south of I-94. This system would also connect to the Trails in Wauwatosa. So there is pedestrian and bike access without using Bluemound Road.

This Public Hearing is primarily to change the LAND USE from Mixed to Retail. Remember the original plan was for high density housing? Translate: apartments. Believe me, Brookfield and the neighborhood is far better off with this being purely retail / business such as the Target, a restaurants and a bank. Brookfield doesn't need more apartments or condos that do not contribute enough in tax revenue to support the schools or services they use.

I might remind our new Mayor Ponto that he told me he had a strong desire to protect the single family home's property values. I would like to see Mayor Ponto take a leadership role in this and protect this neighborhood from this unwanted and unnecessary intrusion.

Please help your fellow Brookfield residents preserve their neighborhood from unwanted non-neighborhood related traffic by commenting tonight at the Common Council Public Hearing or emailing your comments to Lisa@betterbrookfield.com (She will forward them.) The Council will vote on this December 21st.

My Aldermen Lisa Mellone and Renee' Lowerr sent the following information in an email:
"Proposed Target Store update:

"This Tuesday, December 7^th at 7:45 p.m. in the Council Chambers at city hall, there will be a Public Hearing* (resident opportunity to provide public input) for a proposed land use amendment to city master and neighborhood Plans (details attached). This is the first step in the process to allow for the construction of a Target store on the site of the vacant Quebecor printing plant by Bluemound Rd. and 124^th St.

"Taken from the Common Council Agenda:

7:45 p.m. - Public Hearing: Request of Ryan Companies US, Inc., 50 S.

Tenth Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55403-2012, to amend the

City of Brookfield 2035 Comprehensive Plan and the 124th Street and

Bluemound Road Neighborhood Plan. These plan amendments would be

required to accommodate a proposed multi-tenant commercial

redevelopment at the former Quebecor property located at 12821 W.

Bluemound Road.

The Council will be asked to vote on the land use plan amendment on December 21st. This is not a vote on zoning, but a vote on land use. The rezoning process would begin early in 2011 and would include a second public hearing followed by a subsequent Plan Commission/ Council vote.

*Now is the time to voice your opinions on this project to the Council. We know there are mixed views around the immediate neighborhood (Columbia Gardens) on this proposal vs. the vacant Quebecor that now exists. However, there seems to be strong support in that neighborhood for NO CONNECTIONS TO COLUMBIA BLVD. when this site IS developed. It is important to these residents to keep cut thru traffic intrusion off of their narrow and hilly streets. We support that view point wholeheartedly and with vigor. Also, the developer does not favor a connection as there will already be 2 signalized connections straight to Bluemound Road to serve the development. Some Plan Commissioners and Council members feel differently and favor that connecti0on. Please consider making a statement at the Public Hearing or writing an email at a minimum. You can [email me] and I will forward to appropriate officials."

Target Plan Amendments 12-7-10 Download


Past Post: Can it be? A Target in Brookfield? How about Trader Joes too? (with photos)

Links: Practically Speaking, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation