I’ve previously written about the plight of the residents of the Lake Bluff Apartment complex in South Milwaukee, who face the razing of their homes at the hands of the City of South Milwaukee. At issue is the position by the city that the Lake Bluff Apartments were built illegally and in violation of zoning ordinances, and the city wants the entire complex razed. Residents of the complex are fighting efforts to raze the complex, and the city is now fighting allegations its attempts to raze the complex are motivated by racial discrimination.
According to the 2000 census, the African-American population in South Milwaukee as a whole totaled only 1%, and at least one-third of the Lake Bluff residents are racial minorities, including about one-quarter who are African-American. It’s also worth noting the Lake Bluff Apartment complex also provides housing for a large number of residents with disabilities. R. Patrick Stoner, one of the aldermen who “represents” the citizens of the Lake Bluff Apartments on the South Milwaukee Common Council, has said of the racial discrimination allegations, “The discrimination part is something that’s been cooked up by the people who are trying to keep the building up.” As a resident of South Milwaukee – and a resident of the Lake Bluff Apartments – I’ve come to appreciate the diversity that can be found within the Lake Bluff Apartments complex. I’m of the belief that my children – especially my stepdaughter – have learned to appreciate and embrace difference in people, no matter whether those differences happen to be skin color, religious beliefs, or physical abilities.
I certainly understand the City of South Milwaukee’s arguments in favor of razing the Lake Bluff Apartments, but I still can’t help but wonder if this situation could be resolved without resorting to razing an entire apartment complex that’s less than 20 years old. After all, how many taxpayer dollars have been wasted fighting this legal battle? Isn’t there some solution that can be reached that allows the Lake Bluff Apartments to continue to exist while also acknowledging the city’s rights to enforce its own zoning ordinances? What’s more, wouldn’t it be smarter on the city’s part to settle this dispute and begin collecting property taxes from the owners of the Lake Bluff Apartments, property taxes that have gone uncollected for years?
In my opinion it’s time for the City of South Milwaukee and the owners of the Lake Bluff Apartments to put their egos aside and put this conflict to rest once and for all, because real people – people like Dean and Jodie Allen and their children – are the ones who’ll pay the steepest price after all is said and done.
Me and my new wife just moved in to Lake Bluff and love it here. This is our first home together since she has moved here from Canada. I myself have been a life time resident of South Milwaukee and will always call it my home town.
Scott, I love it here too, and I’m just wondering what will happen if our fellow tenants lose this lawsuit. How long will we have to move before the city swoops in to start tearing the buildings down?
I have a passing interest in this matter. For over twenty years, before her incapacity with dementia, my mother lived in the Marina Cliffs Condominiums. Those units abut the immediate west end of Lake Bluff. The fault is equally divided between the owners/developers of Lake Bluff and the City of South Milwaukee.
South Milwaukee is blessed with a large swath of lakeshore with magnificent bluffs to match. It always amazed me that the Lake Bluff area was zoned multi-family. The land which Lake Bluff occupies was valuable and pristine. The land should have been more appropriately zoned for either low impact single family homes or, more preferably, simply left natural. Not exactly a Nobel Laureate move!
Way back when this whole matter was first disputed in circuit court and the intermediate appellate court , Lake Bluff owners, with favorable circuit court and state appellate court rulings, foolishly decided to proceed with construction FULL KNOWING THERE WAS AN APPEAL TO THE STATE SUPREME COURT PENDING!!!! By the time the supreme court overruled both the circuit court and the appellate court, the buildings were completed.
Not exactly a Nobel Laureate move!
This whole situation could have been prevented by a little advanced thinking! How pathetic!
Everytime there is an incident involving minorities people cry racism. Race has NOTHING to do with this case. The developers proceeded with construction although there was a pending law suit. Who knows if codes were followed as inspections were not done. This property needs to be demolished.
The facts are, developers didn’t follow the rules and are now trying to protect their investment by saying an entire city is racist. It’s a sad state of affirs when you can do something wrong, get called on it and try to get out of it by playing the race card.
Mike, I could be wrong, but from what I’ve been told of the situation, occupancy permits were issued, despite the status of the buildings.