Milwaukee County judge dismisses urban planner’s lawsuit against Wauwatosa

Listen to this article

A Milwaukee County judge dismissed a local urban planner’s lawsuit against the city of Wauwatosa Tuesday after a hearing at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The decision came from Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Watts, who granted a Wauwatosa attorney’s request to quash urban planner Robin Palm’s motion for a Writ of Mandamus. Palm, a Milwaukee resident, argued he had a right for his appeals to be heard before the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

Judge Watts’ ruling stipulated Palm didn’t fit the prerequisites for someone who was “aggrieved” by Wauwatosa’s actions. Watts added that the Writ of Mandamus was an “extraordinary writ.”

Palm said he noticed “grievous errors” with the Wauwatosa Common Council’s March approval of Hansen Storage Co. to move into 1300 Glenview Place, where housing was proposed a year earlier. He petitioned the city twice for a hearing to appeal the decision, but the city rejected his petitions both times.

He cited Wisconsin statute 62.23(7)(e)4, where a Board of Appeals review may be accepted by any person aggrieved by an officer, department, board or bureau of the city affected by the decision of an administrator.

Kiley Zellner, an attorney for Wauwatosa, said because the way the city’s municipal code is written, the zoning administrator had discretion whether or not to take up Palm’s complaints.

According to the city’s municipal code 24.16.010(c)(4)f, a zoning administrator “may require that applications or plans be revised before being placed on an agenda for possible action.”

Zellner added the zoning board doesn’t have the power to approve an application or plan, citing municipal code once more.

Palm, who was representing himself, said the court “conflated” two cases, where one was supposed to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals and not the case in court.

“My case here is that my application deserved a shot. And it deserved to be heard and was shut down by the person whose actions I was appealing,” he added.

Wauwatosa officials said they believed the court was “correct” to dismiss the motion.

“We believe the court was correct in its decision to grant the motion to dismiss and are satisfied that the city and its residents can continue to move forward with its development processes,” a Wauwatosa spokesperson added.

Palm called the decision “disappointing” and maintained the zoning was “illegal” without action from the Common Council.

“Obviously, the decision is disappointing, the judge was brand new to the case and did not recognize the merit the previous judge clearly identified. Regardless, this judge just didn’t see it my way,” he added.

In his closing remarks, Watts said if it were easy enough to get writs, the courts would be “flooded” if community members were unhappy with municipal development decisions.

“Imagine if the Common Council of any municipality dealing with a conditional use permit were to grant or deny it, thereby irritating any number of people on either side. The number of writs of mandamus that would be brought … also the idea the circuit court would be able to sort them all out and litigate them is clearly not what the Wisconsin Legislature intended, nor any of these municipal codes,” Watts added.

The case was first filed in May with Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Foley. Judge Watts took over the case after Foley retired in June.

In March, Palm filed two appeals to the city’s development director after the Wauwatosa Common Council that same month approved Hansen Storage Co. to move into 1300 Glenview Place.

Palm cited a housing crisis in the Milwaukee metro area for his reasons for disputing Wauwatosa’s land use decision. He said it was “concerning” that Wauwatosa officials voted for warehousing over a proposed affordable housing project with over 700 units.

Council members voted 8-5 to approve a conditional use permit for Hansen to operate two warehouses and an office building, according to city records. The buildings would be managed by around 10 employees and would offer space for leasing.