MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — A 5-2 vote by the Village Board on Monday night blocked plans for building a women's rehabilitation home in Menomonee Falls.
The decision came after a marathon public comment session that lasted over two hours, where a packed crowd made emotional pleas to the village board both in favor and against the proposal.
The Great Lakes Adult and Teen Challenge applied to have a 12 acre plot of agricultural land rezoned to allow them to build a new Women’s Center recovery home there. That parcel sits between residential homes on Custer Lane and is across the road from Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital.
This was the second time the faith-based recovery organization came to the village board with this proposal.
Jennifer Harper, a program coordinator with Teen Challenge, says the space would have allowed them to offer gardening and landscaping as part of recovery to the 15 women who would have lived in the home.
“Our women's home is currently in downtown Milwaukee, in a beautiful historic neighborhood, but we don't have a lot of outdoor space, and we found it's so critical in recovery that the women really enjoy being outdoors.”
The idea of building the center in a plot of land near a partially residential area has created some controversy in the area.
A sign on the street encourages people to ask the village board to vote 'no' on rezoning.
Other neighbors on the block like Christine Lodl welcoming the addition.
“I feel like they would be good neighbors and I would welcome them to come here,” said Lodl.
Lodl tells TMJ4 she believes stigmatization of addiction is what is causing fear among neighbors.
“Everyone should be allowed to have a second chance and be allowed to live in a place that is quiet and has nature and be allowed to heal. I don’t feel that it is at all a threat to this community or to our neighborhood.”
She shared those thoughts at Monday night's village board meeting while some of her other neighbors a few doors down were against rezoning for the center.
One neighbor saying in tears, “don't let this organization intimidate us and force their way into this community, people who actually live around this place. We live there. We should have a say!”
After public comment the village board had a tense debate before they voted 5-2 against the proposal.
Some trustees said they were concerned that changing the zoning of the land would allow future businesses to move into that space and ruin the residential nature of the neighborhood.
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