Brewpub TIF plan raises specter of referendum

It looked as though the Inventors Brewpub proposal was cruising toward final approval Tuesday, but there are a few steps left in the process.

Port Washington aldermen voted unanimously to issue $835,000 in general obligation bonds to help finance the project, as allowed in the developer’s agreement, but the process gives residents a 30-day period in which to file a request for a referendum on the bonding.

Residents would need to collect 619 signatures, the equivalent of 10% of the 6,191 votes cast in the last gubernatorial election — by March 17 to force the referendum, officials said.

If a referendum were to stop the bonding, the city does have other financing alternatives for the development incentives, such as taking out a loan, but officials said bonding is the least expensive option.

The incentive is provided for in a developers agreement approved by the city years ago with TBF Development, which planned to create the Blues Factory on the far north end of the north harbor slip. 

Although the Blues Factory was never built, the agreement remains in place. And since TBF Development will continue to own the land and will construct the brewpub, then lease the building to Inventors, the terms of the agreement still apply, City Administrator Tony Brown said.

While the agreement provides for a $1 million incentive, a portion of that went to help finance improvements to the harbor wall in the area and to finance the purchase of the lot, Brown said.

Aldermen considered four actions for the Inventors proposal Tuesday, including an initial resolution authorizing the bonding and the publishing of a notice regarding that financing plan.

Officials emphasized that the plan allows the city to issue bonds for as much as $835,000 for the project but that it does not commit them to take that action.

TBF Development still must meet several conditions before the bonding will actually be done.

Those conditions, Brown said, include providing the city with documentation showing TBF has a financing commitment for the project and an appraisal certifying it will be worth at least $4.75 million when completed.

The city has five years to issue the bonds, Carol Wirth, president of Wisconsin Public Finance Professionals, the city’s financial consultant, said.

Because the brewpub will be in a tax incremental financing district, the bonds will be repaid with the increased property taxes from the development. 

Brown noted that when the TIF is retired, the loan will have been paid off and, even using conservative estimates, another $71,000 from the development will remain in the TIF for use by the city.

Aldermen on Tuesday also gave the brewpub approval to exceed the 35-foot downtown height limit by a 5-2 vote, even though a number of neighboring property owners spoke against it.

“I agree with the plan to put the brewpub up,” Gary Ames, who lives at 306 E. Washington St., across from the project, said, noting it will be good for the community. 

But, he questioned the impact it will have on he and his neighbors.

“I don’t agree with the variance. For us who spent a large amount of money on our homes, I can’t justify it,” he said.

His neighbor Cathy Schulz, 308 E. Washington St., told aldermen that she particularly objects to the height of the silo and sign atop the building, which will reach 52 feet.

  “How would you feel if you look out your bedroom window, your living room window, and saw a giant silo that said Inventors Brewpub?” she asked.

Another neighbor said that the development will be disruptive to the area with increasing traffic and noise.

“The loss of the view is irreplaceable,” she said. “Imagine what we will see tomorrow and forever. There is no second chance to make the right decision.”

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, said the city’s zoning code allows a 61-foot structure, but anything taller requires a public hearing and a two-third vote of the council approving it.

The brewpub atrium and stairwell would reach a height of 45 feet, the silo and sign 52 feet, parapets 37 feet and equipment screens 40 feet, he said.

Ald. Mike Gasper said he would vote against increasing the height of the building, saying that the city should take a consistent stance against taller structures in downtown.

“If we’re going to allow more than 35 feet, we should just allow more than 35 feet,” he said. “I don’t like being arbitrary.”

Ald. Dan Benning questioned the need for the stairwell and atrium to be as tall as it is, saying he had not heard a good reason why it needs to be that high.

Joel Agacki of Striegel Agacki Studio  said that the extra height is needed to accommodate some of the kitchen and catering components.

While that satisfied Benning, aldermen Pat Tearney and John Sigwart questioned the height of the silo and sign.

Ald. Jonathan Plietner concurred, saying that while he has no problem approving the increased height for items that are functional, such as the stairwell, doing so for an aesthetic feature was a question for him.

The silo and sign do serve a purpose, Gertjan van den Broek of TBF Development told aldermen, noting that the sign will be seen by people approaching the downtown from all directions.

“To me, the silo has a purpose like the lighthouse, like the Smith Bros. sign. It says here I am,” he said, noting the Inventors sign will help show that the downtown district extends beyond Franklin Street.

Voting against approval of the extended height for the silo and sign were Tearney and Gasper, while Gasper and Ald. Paul Neumyer voted against the additional height for the other portions of the building.

Amendments to the developer’s agreement were not ready for Tuesday’s meeting but are expected to be considered by the council on March 1, Brown said.