Milwaukee Takes Next Step in Zoning Overhaul

Bay View and the Milwaukee skyline. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff. Adopting a plan to encourage more housing in Milwaukee was difficult enough. Now comes the potentially more contentious task of changing the laws that govern what can actually be built. The Department of City Development (DCD) is launching the second phase of its Housing Element initiative, formerly known as Growing MKE, with a series of public meetings next week to review proposed changes to the city s zoning code. The work follows the Common Council s July 2025 adoption of the Housing Element, a long-debated policy document intended to encourage more housing development, expand housing choices and address rising housing costs. But adopting the plan didn t actually change most of the city s zoning code. That requires a separate legislative process, one that could reopen some of the political battles that nearly derailed the original initiative. We’ve set a new vision for Milwaukee’s housing through an update to the C