JCC Proposal Approved With Fewer Late-Night Events

After months of discussion, Whitefish Bay village officials gave the permission to expand its hours, hold more special events and snowplow in the overnight hours.

The Whitefish Bay Village Board on Monday night unanimously approved the organization's request to modify its development agreement with the village, which was reached in 2002 as a result of its expansion. The board's action comes on the heels of a before the Village Board and Plan Commission in March and the in April.

The board OK'ed all of the JCC's requests except its request to hold as many as 30 events per year that would run until 1 a.m., rather than the current closing time of 11 p.m. Instead, trustees allowed 15 late-night events, with the option of revisiting the matter in a year, at which point trustees could allow anywhere from 10 to 30 late-night events.

The other requests that were granted by the board are as follows:

• Open Monday through Friday at 5 a.m. rather than 6 a.m. Open Saturday at 8 a.m. instead of noon.

• Permission to host 20 special events per year, up from 12. JCC Executive Director Mark Shapiro has said the group does not plan to hold more events than usual, rather the greater allowance of 20 will give them flexibility in planning events that could require street parking. With the current cap of 12 per year, it is difficult to plan in advance without knowing whether they will have reached their maximum number of allowable special events by that point.

• Allow snow-plowing between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Under a separate ordinance change approved in March, non-municipal snow plows are not allowed to use backup alarms within 50 feet of a home during overnight hours.

• Allow 150 people, instead of 40, for overnight "lock-in" events, such as teen events with BBYO.

• Build two fences — for the back field around the retention pond, and for the front of the south building. The village's Architectural Review Commission approved the JCC's fence proposals at its April 5 meeting.

In an email statement, JCC Board Chair Moshe Katz and JCC Executive Director Mark Shapiro said they were pleased with the board's decision.

“We’re pleased with this decision from the Village Board, which ensures that the Milwaukee Jewish Federation can maintain the safe and welcoming campus our community has come to expect," they said. "The JCC is grateful to our neighbors, members and civic leaders for engaging in the thoughtful conversation that led us to this productive result.”