Posted: March 3, 2010 |(0) Comments

Oak Creek — A large percentage of the 150-plus people who filled the Oak Creek Community Center on Tuesday night supported a proposed senior living facility at Life Creek Church.

Those supporters, many wearing green buttons saying "Vote Yes For Seniors," left happy after the Oak Creek Common Council, on a 5-1 vote, approved the proposed $12.5 million housing facility for people age 55 and older.

The council, as part of the proposal, approved a rezoning from single-family residential to institutional, which will allow a building that will feature 80 one- and two-bedroom units. The facility wil be built next to Life Creek Church, owned by the Korean Church of Milwaukee at 2020 E. Drexel Ave.

Representatives of Life Creek said the facility will meet the growing demand for senior living in the area. It will also increase the city's tax base by $250,000 annually while not creating any extra burden on the school district, since no children will live there, officials said.

Larger venue

City officials guessed correctly that turnout on the topic would be big, so the council's regularly scheduled meeting was moved from City Hall to across the parking lot at the Oak Creek Community Center.

Though many Life Creek church members filled the room, they weren't the only ones in favor.

A few dozen construction workers who will work on the project were also there, showing their support of a project they believe will create desperately needed construction jobs.

Other community members and even some neighbors were also in support.

"This group is going to make an extra effort to treat the elderly like first-class citizens," resident Rosie Czarnecki said.

A promise broken?

But the facility was not without its detractors. It isn't the church itself that bothers some neighbors. Rather, their objections was based, in large part, because of what they said was a broken promise.

Some neighbors recall that, seven years ago, Life Creek promised that the land now planned for higher-density senior living apartments would remain zoned for single-family home residences.

"Alderman (Dan) Jakubczyk referred to the Life Creek Church as a good neighbor," noted resident Cris Smith, who lives near the church. "Unfortunately, they appear to be more like the quiet neighbor who commits an insidious crime that catches the surrounding neighborhood off-guard."

There were also concerns about a high number of ambulance calls, increased traffic and whether the building, from an architectural standpoint, will fit in with its surroundings.

Addressing concerns

Representatives of Life Creek said they heard neighbors' concerns over the last several months and made several changes as a result.

The scope of the project was scaled down drastically - at one point it was to feature eight buildings, compared to a sngle structure now.

In addition, the facility is now better integrated with the church and features more than 80 percent green space, with walking paths and gardens creating a park-like setting, church officials said.

City support

Five aldermen and Mayor Dick Bolender sided with Life Creek. Alderman Steve Scaffidi cast the lone dissenting vote.

Bolender, noting a similar senior housing project approved in Franklin as part of the Sacred Heart monastery, said he does not want seniors to leave the community because of a lack of residential options.

"They seem to have it in Franklin, and if Franklin's got it, we're going to have it," he said. "So I'm 110 percent for this because it is (for) the elderly, and it's our elderly."