Council News
Unintended Consequences: Subdividing Property & Municipal Water
7/13/2025 update: This proposed amendment to the Subdividion Ordinance is once again on the agenda for approval at the July 14th Shorewood City Council meeting.
During the April 28th Shorewood meeting, the council discussed a proposed amendment to the subdivision ordinance, for 2.5 hours, before tabling it for future consideration.
Shorewood Parks Master Plan Update 2025: Building on the Vision
Shorewood completed a Parks Master Plan in 2002 with an update in 2009.
In 2024 the Park Commission agreed to extend the Master Plan to include concepts for South Shore Park with further planning, development, and enhancement of parks, trails, natural areas, and recreational facilities.
SeeClickFix.com: Saying Goodbye
Beginning in 2025, Shorewood switched its citizen reporting mechanism from SeeClickFix to Citizen Request Tracker® (CRT).
The cost savings will be $5k+ per year and removes a “citizen facing” product in favor of one much more controlled.
What’s Your Beef?
Convincing residents to speak at a city council meeting on almost anything is a challenge, unless it directly affects their property. Explanations vary from busy schedules to general discomfort when speaking on camera.
Now there is another reason: A council member who implied he does not want to be bothered by people bringing their “beef” before the council.
Drilling Down on Municipal Water
On 11/25/2024 the Shorewood council hashed over the ongoing dilemma of the underwater municipal water fund.
It discussed incentives for residents, who have existing “stubs” to connect to the municipal water system. The council also laid out some ideas for a more “mandatory” approach.
Land Use Variance 1.0
Few people have reason to know about variances if they have not needed one.
The Shorewood City Council may want to allocate time to discuss an overall policy focusing on variances.
Just Answer the Question!
The draft minutes from the July 9 Shorewood Park Commission meeting have just been released. Two items, subtly related, stand out in the 22 pages of the document.
Confusion vs. Clarity
Arborvitae and a fence “erroneously” built in the city right-of-way (ROW) took up considerable time and energy at two Shorewood council meetings.
On May 28, because of vague language in the ordinance, the Council engaged in a confusing conversation, followed by an unusual 43 seconds of silence, when no motion was made to correct the issue of the matter.
Public Process Matters
What started as just another Shorewood City Council meeting on Apr. 22, quickly became questionable for what was said, and not said.
Before the Council could approve the agenda, administrator Nevinski removed items 2H and 6C. He did not explain what those items were for the audience. He only said there were “notice issues and concerns.”
