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Ahead of a public hearing scheduled for Monday night’s Common Council meeting, objections have been voiced directly to Sheboygan City Council members, the Mayor and others raising questions about whether a significant number of serious issues have been dismissed in favor of expediting approval of the project. Several of those voicing their concerns warn of the potential of catastrophic sanitary sewer failure and overloads, contributions to increased shoreline erosion and increased contamination of area beaches. We present details of those concerns below.
— Objections by Jon Dolson —
Jon Dolson, the Sheboygan County Clerk speaking as the Ellis Historic Neighborhood-President, former member of the Architectural Review Board, and a former member of the Historical Preservation Commission, began by stating that the development, as proposed, should not move forward; not out of objection to developing the former Optenburg Foundry site on South 7th Street, but because he considers several items within the proposal “not appropriate”.
Among issues Dolson expressed: The size is too large for the neighborhood; the number of units are too many, “dumping an extraordinary amount of vehicles onto 7th street”…and adding a restaurant would only exacerbate the problem; the increased traffic threatens bicyclists and pedestrians who use the area heavily; a lack of concern is being given to the city’s sustainability task force, whose members have spoken out against the development; the fact that City-owned (owned by Sheboygan residents) right-of-ways are incorporated for parking requirements of a private property suggests that the project is already too large for the site and would set an unacceptable precedent; shoreline erosion, such as that which required extensive protections structures at Blue Harbor, would eventually demand the same for Malibu Apartments. He said that simply complying with “set back requirements” doesn’t take into account the geology of the soils and proximity to the lake. Finally, Dolson said, promoting the Malibu Apartments as addressing a shortage of affordable housing, doesn’t look valid when high-rate units vastly outnumber those priced affordably for the skilled workers most in need of them. As Dolson put it, “Tackling the need shown in the study, for higher rent units, does not need roughly a fourth of it all built on one plot of land. 10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag comes to mind.”
— Objections by Scott Hanson —
Another voicing objections to the project as proposed is Scott Hanson, a resident of Sheboygan since 1982 and previous owner of Cardinal Environmental, and environmental laboratory that has worked with the City on many environmental issues. As a former Board Member of the King Park Neighborhood Association, Hanson told City Council members that the Association also did NOT endorse the Malibu Apartments, contrary to what was implied at the July 9, 2024 City Plan Commission meeting.
For at least 15 years, Cardinal was tasked with sampling beaches in Sheboygan and adjacent counties for E Coli bacteria to confirm that the water was safe for swimming and, if not, warnings would be issued. He expressed concerns that if built, the sewage from the 215 apartments would discharge to 7th Street, then north to the Kentucky Avenue Pump Station, and then toward Lake Michigan along the alley adjacent to JL Die Coat. At the beginning of the sand beach, Hanson said a 60-inch concrete pipe runs south, along the beach near the current grassy zone, to the south past Kite Beach, King Park Beach, and below the bluffs all the way to the Sheboygan Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. This is the same line Dolson referred to as threatened with catastrophic failure. According to Hanson, the failure threat was already known three to five years ago because of shoreline erosion that had already entirely exposed the pipe above the ground in at least one area beneath the bluff, and that there have been no document efforts to support, shore, or secure the sanitary line from further damage. The only acknowledgement, he said, was to “tell the Sheboygan taxpayers that the City is waiting for a grant from FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency”. Hanson said that with the water levels now near historic lows, there may be no better time to access the exposure for repair.
Hanson echoed Dolson’s concerns about sanitary sewer capacity which, if an additional 200 to 500 individuals contributed, could inundate residential homes between the Malibu Apartments and the Kentucky Avenue Pump Station with more sewage than can be handled by the current infrastructure. He also noted the proximity of the sewer line to the east wall of the project. He said that the need to pound pilings for a 4+ story structure could potentially crush or in some other way damage the 60-inch pipe if appropriate cautions aren’t considered.
Also of concern to both Hanson and Dolson is the outflow of storm water at the Clara Avenue outlet, which he said has already been the source of beach-closing contamination after heavy rains. Hanson said that if the currently-permeable green space of the former Optenberg Iron Works were occupied by impermeable structures, the runoff would be added to the Clara Avenue outlet, further increasing the likelihood of contamination.
Finally, Hanson noted a problem with Winter Parking Restrictions in that all three parking streets around the Malibu site would increase an already-difficult situation for parking by existing residents, especially during snow emergencies.
— Will These Concerns Make Any Difference? —
Both Dolson and Hanson have written directly to Council members expressing these concerns. We asked Dolson if he was going to speak during the hearing during Monday’s 6 p.m. Common Council meeting, and he replied that he could not appear directly due to prior commitments, but had written to each member. In his response he added that: “My experience with the city council is that if you contact them directly, they often will exchange some dialogue. If one speaks at the common council meeting, council members are often texting, typing on their laptop, talking to a neighbor to the left or right, or simply not paying attention. Addressing the council at their meeting is simply that, addressing the council. Not a Q&A by any means. But that’s what it is, one’s given the opportunity to address the council.”
— No Comment Offered In Response —
WHBL contacted Mayor Ryan Sorenson, Council President Alder Dean Dekker and Director of Planning & Development and Sustainability Coordinator Diane McGinnis Casey for the opportunity to comment over 24 hours before publishing. We received no response.
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