Challenge:

The Milwaukee Protestant Home, a senior housing development planned for the affluent city of Mequon, WI, fit with the type of high-quality development sought there. However, nearby property owners filed a protest petition, a legal maneuver to force a supermajority (80 percent) vote on the Common Council for approval of the development. The property owners were concerned about traffic, noise, loss of green space and distance from a freeway corridor.

Execution:

The Lynne Broydrick Group launched a carefully conceived plan of community outreach and education that focused on listening to concerns of the nearby residents. Many changes were made in the project design to reflect their input.

Result:

Seeing that their concerns were heard and addressed, many signatories to the protest petition changed their mind and the petition was overturned. With this hurdle cleared, the Common Council approved the housing development.