The Milwaukee Common Council’s rejection this week of a $55 million apartment high-rise was largely the result of opposition from people living in a neighboring east side condo building.
But the neighboring condo owners were joined in their campaign by an unexpected figure: the president of the local firefighters union, who lives 13 miles from the proposed project site.
David Seager spoke with some council members about his opposition to the high-rise proposal, according to sources who heard about those conversations. Those sources asked not to be identified.
Seager’s low-key involvement is a surprise. It’s not a union issue, and most of those involved in the zoning debate were either neighborhood residents, or the project’s developers and their supporters in the business community.
Seager didn’t respond to requests for information about why he spoke with council members about the high-rise. Madison developer Chris Houden wanted to build the 27-story, 192-unit building behind the Goll House, 1550 N. Prospect Ave.
Patrick Dunphy, an attorney and resident of the condo building at 1522 N. Prospect Ave., also didn’t respond to requests for information. Dunphy helped lead opposition to the project.
Seager is a well-known figure at City Hall. He’s been president of the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association since 2010 and played a key role in lobbying the state Legislature to overturn Milwaukee’s residency requirement for city employees.
Sources said Seager got involved on behalf of a friend who lives at the condo building.
According to assessment records, Seager and his wife own a house on Milwaukee’s far northwest side, 13 miles from the proposed development site.
The neighboring condo residents said Houden’s tower would be too large for the lot.
Condo owners raised concerns about the apartment tower’s effects on traffic and parking. A city study said the apartment tower wouldn’t have a significant negative effect on traffic, and the proposed 212 parking spaces were higher than the minimum required by zoning regulations.
The council on Tuesday voted 10-5 to support the project. But that fell two votes short of the supermajority needed for approval. According to city ordinance, the zoning change needed 12 votes because a protest petition was signed by condo owners making up at least 20% of adjacent property owners.
The council members voting “no” were Ald. Robert Bauman, whose district includes the site, along with aldermen Cavalier Johnson, Mark Borkowski, Jose Perez and Tony Zielinski.
Only Bauman spoke about his opposition during the discussion before the vote occurred. He reflected concerns from the condo owners about the project’s size, and its effects on traffic and parking. Reached after the council meeting, Johnson, Perez and Zielinski made similar comments.
Johnson, Perez and Bauman have since said they didn’t speak with Seager about the high-rise.
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