UPDATE: The Milwaukee Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee voted 5-0 in favor of building the new juvenile justice facility on the city's north side.
The committee OK'd approval of the rezoning that would permit the construction of the facility, proposed at 7930 W. Clinton Ave. in Milwaukee.
The proposal now heads to a full Milwaukee Common Council vote 9 a.m. on Jan. 17.
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MILWAUKEE — A public hearing is set for Tuesday on the rezoning of the proposed new youth correctional facility as a replacement for Lincoln Hills.
The facility would replace the state's existing youth prison, Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls, located outside Irma. State and federal investigations several years ago at Lincoln Hills resulted in a report detailing use-of-force violations at the juvenile prison.
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As previously reported, an investigation found three inmates were mistreated by corrections officers, which violated their civil rights. The victims were paid $5 million in a settlement. In 2018, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ordered Lincoln Hills to be closed and replaced with smaller, regional juvenile detention centers, including Milwaukee County, so inmates could be close to home.
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However, plans for a new Milwaukee County facility were halted after funds for the proposed project were cut in 2020. It was revised last year when the Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center was proposed as a site.
According to our partners at Milwaukee NNS, officials advocated against tearing down and replacing Felmers Chaney with a youth facility and instead supported using the Clinton Avenue site, an old emissions testing center located at 7930 W. Clinton Ave.
Now officials are hoping to gain support from residents in the area. Before ground can be broken on a new facility, the Common Council must approve rezoning the proposed property from Industrial Light to Detailed Planned Development. The hearing allows for public testimony on the proposal before any final approval.
The public hearing will be held on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Room 301-B at City Hall, 200 E. Wells. St.
You can read the full agenda online or below:
