Milwaukee Housing Update

Two stories have dominated the conversation around the housing crisis in Milwaukee this year,  the damning scandal around Milwaukee public housing and the rejection of the Growing MKE plan. Both were covered by Milwaukee Beagle, but it is always important to continue to follow these stories after the initial headlines pass. 

Milwaukee Housing Authority’s Struggles Continue

The situation for the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) has only worsened since our last article. It turns out, not only had HACM mismanaged $2.8 million in federal money, as was previously reported, but it also owes the city upwards of $5 million for salaries of city employees who worked for HACM and for other services. As it scrambles to fix its finances, HACM also remains director-less and the Common Council seems nowhere close to approving a new director. As a reminder, the previous director, Willie L. Hines, Jr. retired in January with a luxurious pension, conveniently right before the news of HACM financial mismanagement of federal funds was made public. He was a close ally and donor of Mayor Johnson, whose office worked closely with HACM to try and downplay the scandals. The Common Council at least seems to be concerned about the Mayor’s handling of the situation and will be providing actual oversight of his nominees. The future looks especially bleak though considering the Trump Administration’s slashing of federal funds. Grievous financial mismanagement like this falls into the trap of giving DOGE’s goons justification for cutting funding. We need to be especially vigilant in how we use federal funds to not give them any excuse to cut more.

Growing MKE Staggers Forward

The Growing MKE plan is being reworked based on additional community feedback. Hopefully, the community feedback will be well incorporated and the plan can serve as a first step towards improving Milwaukee’s housing, as the current situation is unsustainable. While we await the final version, the Common Council has moved forward with trying to pass pieces of the plan. A few weeks ago, the City Plan Commission discussed the possibility of adjusting zoning to allow for the construction of additional 8 unit or less apartment complexes and for the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADU). Unlike the Growing MKE plan, these proposals would not make sweeping changes to Milwaukee’s zoning code, and instead would simply allow the Common Council to approve these zoning code changes on a case by case basis. Despite a great deal of public testimony against building more apartment complexes, the Zoning, Developments, and Neighborhoods committee on April 15th approved both these measures to go before the Common Council. The primary pushback against these changes (specifically the building of more apartments) was the lack of community input and safeguards against gentrification. There is nothing to stop big developers from taking advantage of these changes at their profit and our expense. There are ways to increase housing stock without depending on big developers, such as adding owner-occupancy requirements and community approval. Adding at least some owner-occupancy requirements to the ADU zoning changes did seem to have sympathetic ears on the committee and this is something that should be pushed on when the measure goes before the entire council. Additionally, as with Growing MKE, even if these measures do pass, the council would still have to approve any new developments on a case by case basis, giving us another opportunity to push back if needed.

Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods

In the same committee meeting that approved these two measures moving forward, the Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods (RON) coalition presented their Housing Conditions Report. RON is a coalition of nonprofits and during the past year they surveyed over 30,000 properties across Milwaukee to analyze the current state of the housing stock. Now, it is always important to be skeptical of nonprofits. The nonprofit industrial complex is real and often does not have our best interests at heart. Especially ones funded by massive landlords like Zilber. That being said, the amount of resources needed to produce a report like this can only be done by organizations with access to funding and this report does provide solid information and is a tool we can use. Some of the high level findings of the report were:

• Owner-occupied homes are in better condition than those owned by investors.

• Investor-owned (i.e. rental) homes are more likely to be tax delinquent compared to owner-occupied homes and owe over $6 million in unpaid taxes

The conclusion may not be surprising, investors and landlords do not take care of their properties and often avoid paying taxes. Having the data to back up this assertion though, helps us truly make the case based on hard facts. Just look at these numbers, of the 4,553 properties that needed multiple repairs, 62% of them were investor-owned. And yet of all the properties surveyed, only 48% were investor-owned. Investor-owned properties make up a staggeringly disproportionate amount of the properties needing major repairs. If you have the time, we would recommend reading the entire report, as it provides great insights into the state of Milwaukee’s housing in a surprisingly digestible format. 

Smart YIMBY 

Now before all the accusations of us being NIMBYs (Not in My Backyard) start flying, let us make one thing abundantly clear. We want more housing in Milwaukee. We do not, however, want to continue throwing money at developers and landlords, who, as the RON report and the work of Milwaukee Autonomous Tenants Union show, often make things worse rather than better. Landlords exploit people. They do not take care of their properties. They raise rent and displace folks whenever the opportunity arises. They illegally collude with each other to fix prices and gouge renters. We must protect our community from these types of abuses. We cannot just build for the sake of building. We must consider who owns what is being built. Are they members of the community? Or outsiders just trying to make a quick buck? Will the community reap the full benefits of new housing? Or have to make do with the scraps that trickle down from out of state landlords.

Metcalfe Park, one of the most critical opponents of Growing MKE, is offering one solution; building affordable homes, selling them to community members; and ensuring that these homes must remain owner-occupied. Now, we recognize their plan is focusing on just single family homes, which is not the solution**. An over reliance on single family homes got us into this mess in the first place. We need denser cities, especially if we want to make public transportation and other car alternatives viable. We need this same mindset applied to other forms of housing as well. Imagine apartment complexes owned by the very community who lives in them. This is the type of radical thinking we need to solve the housing crisis. Just relying on ‘the market’ will never work. Affordable, dignified housing and profits are incompatible. Let us make plans like Growing MKE better. We are YIMBYs, but we need to be smart about it. We need to make sure plans like Growing MKE are truly building for our communities and not for greedy parasitic landlords and developers. As the Common Council continues to consider various updates to Milwaukee’s zoning code, we must make this point abundantly clear.

**Correction: Since the publication of this article Metcalfe Park reached out to us to confirm that they are also rehabbing/repairing a variety of housing options including vacant duplexes, single-family homes, and front-and-back ADU homes. They are developing their homes for large, intergenerational families who already co-live and are working toward cooperative living models. Milwaukee Beagle applauds them for the great work they are doing.

They also shared that “In addition to the new builds, We’re also actively working with renters and folks at risk of houselessness. We have and are working on repair resources for critical repairs for existing homeowners. On top of that, we’ve been pushing the city to invest in supportive housing for formerly incarcerated folks and our unhoused neighbors, people who are too often left out of the Growing MKE plan and broader housing conversations. We’re moving with multiple strategies to make sure our community is housed, safe, and rooted.”