“Good fences make good neighbors.” In the poem “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost undercut this proverb and suggested that friendliness, communication and responding to specific concerns are what really make good neighbors.
Representatives of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center appear to be taking this point to heart in discussing plans for renovations to the Karl Jewish Community Campus with Whitefish Bay village officials and neighboring residents.
Beginning next week, federation and JCC representatives and appropriate experts and consultants will hold four days of open houses (Jan. 9, 10, 14 and 15) at the JCC for residents from the 6000 block to the village line of the four Bay streets adjoining the campus: Bay Ridge, Kent, Shoreland and Santa Monica.
At these events, the federation and JCC will present extensively revised plans for renovations and expansion of the site and the two main buildings there — the south building housing primarily the JCC and the north building housing two Jewish day schools and other agencies.
“The purpose is to let neighbors not only see the new plan, but also hear from experts why things have changed; to allow [the neighbors] to raise questions and issues and get any information they want,” said JCC executive vice president Jay Roth. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for them to find out what’s happening and to have any of their concerns addressed.”
Months of discussions
The revisions themselves — details of which are scheduled to be released next week — are the product of months of discussions between JCC and federation representatives and Bay village officials.
Last June, federation and JCC officials — plus experts on such matters as traffic, lighting and storm water drainage — presented plans for changing the site to the village government’s plan commission and an audience of some 400 people. At that meeting, “it was clear that what the plan commission told us was we need to review the plan,” said Roth.
In September through November, federation, JCC and Bay officials met and “took the plan apart,” said Roth. The village representatives “had the chance to give us feedback” about all aspects of the plan and made suggestions for changes.
Some village residents in June and since have expressed opposition to any new construction on the campus, partly because they allege that the JCC has violated village ordinances governing the property and that property values in the area could decline.
Roth told The Chronicle that “After further review” with village officials “as far as we know there are no ordinances that we are violating.” He added that “A number of our neighbors have a misconception about the JCC and don’t understand the ordinances…. I’ve been meeting with small groups of neighbors to show them how we do comply with the ordinances.”
Moreover, Roth said the JCC “had an independent appraiser compare the values of homes around the campus and other homes in Whitefish Bay,” and this appraiser “found no difference” in their relative changes in value.
The meetings with village officials went well, according to participants.
“We’ve had good dialogue and a good interchange with the village,” said Stephen Chernof, an attorney and chair of the steering committee of the Milwaukee Jewish Community Capital Project-Karl Campus Development Project. “We’ve listened to them, and we believe they’ve listened to us in this process.”
Whitefish Bay Village President James Gormley said, “A lot of good information was exchanged” and the federation and JCC made “substantial modifications” in their plans as a result. “The parties work together very well in trying to understand the needs of both sides,” Gormley added.
In addition, federation and JCC representatives have been meeting with “individuals and small groups of selected neighbors” on the streets around the campus to “test market the results” of the discussions between the federation, JCC and village officials, said Roth.
“We have been pleased so far by the preliminary meetings; that people have recognized the significance of the changes, and that the center and the federation have gone a long way and have made major strides in terms of accommodating the community and in respecting the residential character of the neighborhood.”
Bert Bilsky, executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation (the federation’s endowment development program) and associate executive vice president of the federation, attended the meetings as liaison to the day schools and the other agencies in the campus’ north building.
“The leadership of the JCC and its executive vice president have been making tremendous efforts to provide the information that the neighbors require and to be responsive,” Bilsky said. “I think the Jewish community can be proud of the way that the JCC and the federation are responding together to this challenge.”
In addition, a meeting of Bay residents who are JCC members and other Bay supporters of the plans is scheduled for Jan. 16, Roth said.
Roth said the federation and the JCC hope to present the revised plans to the village plan commission in January or February, and that he was “looking forward to presenting them to the neighbors next week.”
In addition to the JCC and the two day schools — Hillel Academy and the Milwaukee Jewish Day School — the campus also houses the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, the Children’s Lubavitch Living & Learning Center, Jewish Family Services Child Development Center, and the Coalition for Jewish Learning.
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