The Issue: A $40 million, three-building development is proposed at the corner of 7400 W. State Street and Wauwatosa Avenue. The development includes a 5 story, 4 story and a 3 story building, which will contain over 160 residential units and nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space. This development will dwarf the adjacent Village and any other building within miles of the site.

Concerns: Traffic! Underground parking planned for this development will accommodate 1.5 cars per unit and has additional spaces for public parking. This will put more cars in an area that already experiences significant daily congestion during rush hours and on weekends. In addition, another three-story housing project is being planned for the lot next to the fire station on the northwest side of the Village. All of this additional traffic will not be limited to the Village. It will affect all arterial roads as well.Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods should understandably be concerned about safety, ease of travel and noise issues.

The VillageAmbiance: As it is currently designed, this huge project will detract from our Village’s historic character and negatively impact the charming, quaint and pedestrian-friendly Village experience. The Strategic Plan for the Tosa Village calls for a “modest development” on this site and adds that any development have “a strong respect and affinity for the scale and quality of the village district.” This development is too big for the village!

Setting a Precedent for Future Development:If the Common Council approves a project of this size, what’s to stop other developers from demanding they be given the same option for their projects?

Need more information?

Attend a Community Meeting on Jan. 8th at 5:30 pm at the Wauwatosa Lions Club at 7336 St James St.

Attend the Community Development Council meeting on Jan. 13th at 7:00 pm at Wauwatosa City Hall

The latest proposal will be discussed by the developer and council members. This may be the last public opportunity to let your council members know how you feel.

4.Write your alderperson and share your thoughts.

Go to:http://www.wauwatosa.net/Directory.aspx?did=51

Send a copy of your email to:SaveTosaVillage@gmail.com.

This will ensure that your letter becomes a part of the official city record, which is much more difficult to ignore! Your alder decides whether or not to submit your letters and emails to the clerk so they become a part of the official record. And to date, it looks as if very few alders have chosen to do so.