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Consideration of a proposed ordinance to amend various sections of Title 24 (Zoning) primarily related to Tosa Tomorrow 2045 Comprehensive Plan
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Submitted by:
Art Piñon
Department:
Development
A. Background/Options
The City of Wauwatosa is proposing a Zoning Text Amendment to update the City’s Zoning Code in order to align it with the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan. The proposed amendments will also bring certain sections of the Code into compliance with State law and include general clean-up and clarification updates.
The proposed zoning code updates are organized into the following three topics:
1. Housing-Related Code Updates
2. Parking Updates
3. Non-Housing-Related Code Updates
Below are summaries of all proposed zoning code changes:
1. Housing-Related Code Updates
• Update zoning district names to be character-based and update purpose statements.
• Update and ease restrictions on bulk and dimensional standards for residential lots.
• Allow residential development in Office Commercial (CO) and General Commercial (C2) zones.
• Delineate and expand allowance of missing middle housing types in additional zoning districts.
• Define Three-Unit/Four-Unit Houses and Attached and Semi-Detached Houses.
• Allow and add supplementary regulations for Cottage Courts, Live-Work Units, and Multi-Unit Residential Buildings.
• Permit mixed-use and multi-family development in the Mayfair Overlay, Special Purpose - Research Park (SP-RP), and Special Purpose - Midtown (SP-MED) Districts.
• Increase allowable building height standards within the SP-MED District.
• Reduce parking requirements for residential development that includes Electric Vehicle (EV) charging spaces.
• Establish educational facility housing as a distinct use within the SP-MED District.
• Ease restrictions for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs).
• Add incentives for Cottage Courts, Multi-Unit Buildings, and Mixed-Use Vertical developments when a percentage of units are designated as affordable.
2. Parking Updates
• Reduce parking requirements for residential uses.
• Establish a 25% reduction in minimum parking requirements for mixed-use developments in the C1, C2, CO, MID-TRN, and MID-MIX districts.
• Eliminate parking requirements for residential uses within ¼ mile of a Connect BRT station.
• Eliminate minimum parking requirements for non-residential uses, while retaining parking design standards.
3. Non-Housing-Related Code Updates
• Modify regulating parameters for split-zoned parcels.
• Remove conditional use permit requirements for parking areas in the Parking Support District.
• Authorize the Zoning Administrator to make exceptions for nonconformities in certain circumstances.
• Extend the lapse of approval period for Conditional Use Permits from 1 year to 18 months.
• Grant the Zoning Administrator authority to approve Final Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) and Minor Amendments, and extend the approval lapse period from 1 year to 2 years.
• Ease and clarify requirements regarding front and street-side setbacks.
• Simplify permit types and processes for certain land uses.
• Ease and clarify standards for vehicle use area landscaping and mechanical equipment screening.
• Ease and clarify pedestrian connection standards between neighboring uses.
• Correct conflicting glazing area square footage standards in the North Avenue Overlay.
• Incorporate the Comprehensive Plan Amendment process into the City Code.
• Remove protest petition provisions for Zoning Map Amendments, Planned Unit Developments, and Historic Overlays/Site Designations.
• Modify definitions for Shelter or Boarding Kennel and Safety Services.
Attached to this report is a strikeout and redline version of the proposed Zoning Code changes.
Public Hearing Comments
A public hearing was held on October 28, 2025 to discuss the proposed zoning code changes. A video of the meeting is attached. During the hearing, one (1) member of the public asked a question, and three (3) members of the public spoke in general support of the changes and also provided comments:
Speaker 1 (Question):
• Is it true duplexes are no longer to be built in Wauwatosa?
Staff Response:
No, duplexes are permitted to be built in certain areas of Wauwatosa but many, especially on the east side, became nonconforming uses when the zoning was changed to single-family. With the proposed code changes, duplexes will be permitted to be built in the Garden Residential (GR), Suburban Residential (SR), Neighborhood Residential (NR), Mixed Residential (MR), Low-density Multi-unit Residential (LDM), Medium-Density, Multi-unit Residential (MDM), Office (CO), Neighborhood/Village Trade (C1), and Special Purpose - Midtown Residential and Transitional (MID-RES and MID-TRN) districts.
Speakers 2 and 3 (In support, with comments):
• Commented that the City’s Zoning Map should be modified to match the Comprehensive Plan Map.
Staff Response:
Modifying the boundaries of the zoning map is a step to be taken at a later time and requires notification to all affected property owners and a separate zoning analysis. While the zoning district boundaries remain unchanged, the zoning designations and permitted land uses have been updated to align with the City’s Comprehensive Plan. For example, the R-1-6 and R-1-9 districts have been re-designated as Suburban Residential (SR) and Neighborhood Residential (NR),with key changes that include reduced minimum lot sizes and lot widths, more flexible standards for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), introduction of duplexes and attached housing as permitted uses in the NR, SR, and GR zones, and allowance of small scale multi-family development in more residential zones.
Speakers 2 and 3 (continued):
• Suggested that multi-unit residential development should be permitted on church and school sites, and that areas currently zoned for single-family use should allow 4-plex development.
Staff Response:
Some church sites zoned C1 or C2 will be permitted to have multi-family residential development. With regard to 4-plexes, some areas that allow both single-unit and multi-unit uses, such as the MR, LDM, MDM, and C1 zones allow 4-plexes.
Overall, updates across all new residential zones support the Comprehensive Plan’s objectives of increasing housing supply and promoting efficient land use. However, not all densities and land uses outlined in the Comprehensive Plan have been incorporated into this draft, which is intentional. The City is taking an incremental approach implementing gentle densification consistent with a 20-year roadmap that allows for gradual, community-supported growth. Many residents, particularly in established single-family neighborhoods, have expressed concerns about rapid density increases. In response, this amendment proposes a measured and balanced transition, laying the groundwork for future housing opportunities while being mindful of current community sentiment.
Speaker 4 (In support):
• Expressed full support for the proposed changes.
No members of the public spoke in opposition of the proposed changes.
B. Recommendation
Staff recommends adoption of the proposed ordinance.