NEW BERLIN — The New Berlin Board of Appeals is expected to decide this afternoon whether the city’s Plan Commission properly determined that the proposed Milwaukee Rescue Mission “New Journey” recovery campus is a permitted use under city zoning regulations.
The appeal hinges on a proposal by the Milwaukee Rescue Mission to develop a residential drug and alcohol recovery facility near Moorland Road and Interstate 43. The project has generated significant opposition from some residents, who have raised concerns about property values, public safety and traffic impacts.
The dispute stems from a determination by the New Berlin Plan Commission that the project qualified as a church because it includes a chapel. Based on that finding, the commission concluded the development was a permitted use within M-1 Industrial zoning and did not require a rezoning process.
Residents challenged that determination before the Board of Appeals, arguing the commission improperly classified the project. The appeal comes after a Waukesha County judge recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by DeMoCat, LLC, Moorland Hospitality Group, LLC and the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. The lawsuit sought a writ of mandamus compelling the city to allow the project to move forward. The court also granted a motion by New Berlin Citizens United to intervene in the case before dismissing it.
Milwaukee Rescue Mission President Patrick Vanderburgh said the project grew out of strategic planning discussions several years ago.
“As we were doing that, part one of the questions was, is God leading us to do something, you know, the next kind of big thing,” Vanderburgh said. “We felt the next strategic thing to do would be to find a campus outside of the city that could be kind of a regional resource and then expand the capacity to serve more than twice as many men as we’re serving now, realizing that addiction, alcohol, or substance addiction is just everywhere.”
The New Journey program currently operates at the mission’s central campus near Marquette University and serves 40 men in a residential recovery program. Vanderburgh said the organization has operated the program for four decades and has increasingly served participants from outside Milwaukee.
“We’ve had just such great success helping men,” he said.
Vanderburgh said the proposed New Berlin campus would be dedicated exclusively to the recovery program and would be staffed around the clock.
“This campus will be specific to that program, and that’s always been the design,” he said. “It’s a community of men working together with our staff, we’ve got 24/7 staffing for the program.”
According to Vanderburgh, the mission consulted pastors in Waukesha County while exploring the project.
“All the pastors that we interviewed said this is an issue in our congregation,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of resources. This would be a great resource that we would definitely find helpful and would access.”
Opponents have argued that the project is being mischaracterized as a church in order to avoid zoning restrictions.
In a statement following the Board of Appeals hearing, New Berlin Citizens United said in a Facebook message that it was confident in the arguments presented by its attorney.
“We feel very confident in the presentation by our attorney Joseph Cincotta, who clearly showed the New Berlin Planning Commission erred in their determination that this facility could be classified as a physical ‘church,’” the group stated.
The group further argued that while an organization may identify as a church for tax purposes, “the physical structure of a ‘church’ must meet specific guidelines as far as land-use, occupancy, and primary function.”
The statement also criticized Vanderburgh’s testimony before the board.
“It felt decisively clear by MRM CEO Patrick Vanderburgh’s subjective testimony as to what he defines as a ‘church,’ that his goal was purely to achieve an outcome in circumventing zoning restrictions that would otherwise apply to the proposed 57,000 sq. ft. Drug-Rehabilitation facility,” the group stated.
Vanderburgh rejected that characterization and said the mission’s religious identity is central to its operations.
“What I think a lot of people don’t understand is we’re incorporated with the state as a church, we’re recognized by the IRS as a church. I’m an ordained minister. We’ve got eight ordained ministers. The Christian faith is so integral to everything that we do,” he said.
He also disputed claims that the facility would negatively affect the surrounding area.
“The people, the men that will be on the program, they’re the brothers, fathers, coworkers, neighbors of people in New Berlin,” Vanderburgh said. He added that the property’s location was intentionally selected because it is separated from residential neighborhoods. He responded to the term “NIMBY” which means Not In My Backyard.
“The irony for us is it is not in my backyard, it’s literally not in anybody’s backyard,” Vanderburgh said. “I mean, the closest resident is over half a mile away.”
Vanderburgh said the organization remains optimistic ahead of Tuesday’s decision.
“We think it’s compelling,” he said. “We think the board members will see a rational assessment of all the facts will bring a favorable ruling for us.”
The special meeting will be held at 4 p.m. this afternoon in the New Berlin City Hall.