GOULD NAMED TO PLAN COMMISSION

UPDATE--Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 --

GOULD CONFIRMED!

BULLETIN -- SPECIAL TO THE READERS OF MILWAUKEEWORLD.COM

THE MILWAUKEE COMMON COUNCIL THIS MORNING UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE NOMINATION OF WHITNEY GOULD TO THE CITY PLAN COMMISSION.

Details of her inauguration ceremony to follow as they are released by the City Clerk. --Ed.

UPDATE--Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 --

GOULD PASSES COMMITTEE SCRUTINY

Whitney Gould received the unanimous approval of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee this morning in her quest to join the City Plan Commission. The Doyenne of Design had to cool her heels in a City Hall corridor for forty-two minutes beyond her 10 a.m. scheduled appearance, televised live on City Channel 25, and available on its achives for eternity. The delay was due to the committee meeting in closed session regarding litigation by opponents of the Downer Avenue garage now under construction.
Ms. Gould was described as a "fearless commentator," by City Planner Dr. Robert Greenstreet, and indeed her countenance seemed leonine with her mane of silver hair framing her impassive face. Alderman Michael Murphy admitted to having "mixed feelings," but he reconciled himself with the realization that the loss to the Journal Sentinel is outweighed by the benefit to the community, and to mankind at large, by Ms. Gould's upcoming service on the Commission.
Alderman Michael D'Amato, the committee chair, asked Ms. Gould "to be as open with ideas as you were at the Journal [Sentinel]."
The next hurdle for Gould will be the Common Council meeting of February 5th, 2008. Alas, unanimous approval will not likely be hers then, due to the expected absence of Ald. Michael McGee, who is in the custody of the state.
--Michael Horne

She's Back!

Special to the readers of milwaukeeworld.com
(c) 2008
By Michael Horne

Whitney Gould, the former architecture and urban space critic of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been named to the City of Milwaukee Plan Commission by Mayor Tom Barrett. Her appointment would take place immediately upon confirmation by the Common Council and administration of her oath of office. Pastries and light refreshments will be served.
In an exclusive interview with milwaukeeworld, Gould said she was approached by the mayor's office about the position.
"Now I can do these things," she told milwaukeeworld, explaining that the conditions of her previous employment prohibited service on a public commission. "I'm sorry I haven't much more to say. I am new to this," she added.
Barrett made the appointment in a letter to the council dated yesterday, Tuesday, January 15th, 2007. The matter has been referred to the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee of the council, chaired by outgoing alderman Michael D'Amato. Gould, who recently accepted a buyout offer from Journal Communications, Inc., is a resident of D'Amato's 3rd district. The committee's next scheduled hearing is Tuesday, January 29th, 2008.
Barrett's nomination of Gould received the immediate endorsement of John O. Norquist, head of the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism. As Milwaukee mayor from 1988 to 2000, he initiated widespread changes in Milwaukee's development policy and political structure that will affect all matters before the commission during Ms. Gould's tenure.
Informed of the mayor's appointment by e-mail, Norquist responded, "Good for Barrett." Mark those words!
The commission is an independent body created by State statute to advise the common council. Its responsibilities include master planning activities, advice on land development issues including zoning map changes, zoning code changes, subdivisions, Business Improvement Districts, street vacations and creations, public land disposition and zoning overlay districts.
Gould was an early supporter of the East Village Conservation Zoning Overlay District, and it would appear she would be interested in seeing this new tool used elsewhere, although she allowed that it was too early to tell which projects might be before her. As is customary for members of the commission, Gould said she has submitted her resume to the Department of City Development.
[Mary Louise Schumacher kindly mentioned this post on her blog on January 29th, 2008. --Ed.]


Curious --

Barrett's letter says Gould will replace Kein Burton on the seven-member commission. However, the Department of City Development, which staffs the commission, does not mention Burton's name as a member of the panel on its website.* It appears her April, 2007 nomination by the mayor to replace Jenann Olsen went nowhere, and was tabled by the council in its July, 2007 meeting. In fact, according to Andrea Rowe Richards of DCD, Burton's resume was so impressive the city hired her full time to run the 30th Street Industrial Corridor operations for the city. Olsen apparently served for just a year, although her term was to have expired in December, 2008.
*The six members named are:
Pat Najera, Michal Dawson, Stephanie Bloomingdale, Larri Sue Jacquart, Gaurie Rodman and J. Allen Stokes.