Photo Credit: Virginia Small
A Chicago-area vendor's proposal to turn the Bradford Beach Bathhouse’s rooftop into a pricey bar and sit-down restaurant could violate Wisconsin's public trust doctrine, which guarantees public access to waterways and filled lakebed land. Several environmental attorneys and an official from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) voiced major concerns about the plan at a recent hearing of the Lakefront Development Advisory Commission (LDAC).
The Dock Bradford LLC, operators of the proposed restaurant, also ran into criticism after saying they hoped their high-end restaurant would change the mix of patrons at the Lake Michigan beach by increasing the number of residents coming from the East Side.
The LDAC hearing was the first opportunity for citizens to speak publicly to officials since the project was formally proposed to Milwaukee County Parks 11 months ago. LDAC Chair William Lynch said that he read about 200 written comments sent to commissioners before the January 27 meeting and found only one favoring the project. LDAC postponed a vote until its meeting on February 17.
Bradford Beach and its historic open-air bathhouse are located on “filled lakebed” land, granted by the State of Wisconsin in 1921 to all its residents. Under the Wisconsin Constitution, that grant guarantees that the beach and activities there must serve only public uses. The doctrine applies in perpetuity to navigable waterways as well as filled-lakebed lands. This constitutionally enshrined doctrine was an agenda item at a hearing about the proposed restaurant, called The Dock. Bradford Beach, Milwaukee County's most popular, attracts thousands of demographically diverse people every summer. A historic ship-like landmark, the pavilion borders Lincoln Memorial Drive and connects by a pedestrian bridge to the Historic Water Tower neighborhood. The Moderne-style gem was named a Milwaukee County Landmark in 2005 and is located within city and county historic districts, the latter eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
The LDAC reviews proposed development along Milwaukee County's public lakefront, based on specific criteria, and then makes recommendations to appropriate governmental agencies. LDAC guidelines for the City of Milwaukee call for project review before other City approvals are sought. Lakefront projects must comply with all relevant laws, including the public trust doctrine.
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The Dock’s management has provided food-and-beverage concessions including alcohol for Bradford beachgoers since 2019, at three tiki-hut beach bars and the pavilion's first-floor concession stand. Their contract was approved retroactively by Milwaukee County's Board of Supervisors in April 2019.
To expand their operations, The Dock’s management wants to install a “semi-permanent” bar adapted from a 2.6-ton steel shipping container on the pavilion's upper deck. They intend to restrict seating to paying customers and to host private parties. The proposal also calls for prominent "Dock" signage on the pavilion as well as rooftop lighting. The vendors project doubling gross revenues within five years of when their contract began.
DNR Upholds the Public Trust Doctrine
John Budzinski, a regional director for Wisconsin's DNR, told commissioners that “the State has an affirmative obligation to ensure that the lakebed-grant areas are open and maintained for the public's use, in keeping with the public trust doctrine.” Ultimately, the State of Wisconsin is the trustee of these granted lands. Budzinski cited a 1996 DNR-issued letter to then-Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament stating that “’destination’ restaurants, bars, or similar commercial facilities on lakebed...are clearly not consistent with the provisions of our constitution.”
“These grants are made for public purposes, and in this case for the public's enjoyment of a public park...I want to make clear that DN’'s position on that has not changed,” Budzinski said. DNR officials are meeting with county parks officials, scrutinizing the scope of this project and will transparently share findings with officials and the public about “what is and is not allowable under the public trust doctrine.”
Tony Wilkin Gibart, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, a nonprofit environmental law organization, told commissioners, “The Dock proposal appears to create a destination bar and grille...A private bar or restaurant that holds itself out as a destination unto itself is not simply ancillary to activities such as boating and swimming." Since everyone shares constitutional rights to enjoy the state's waters, those stewarding Bradford Beach have an "obligation to ensure that it remains an equitable and inclusive space," he said.
Others cited concerns about a destination restaurant increasing competition for limited parking and “making the outdoors less accessible for those who simply want to enjoy the beach.”
In their LDAC application, the Dock’s management said the proposed restaurant will be modeled after The Dock-Montrose Beach, a restaurant they developed in Chicago. Its website says, “The Dock is more than just a sandy get-away from your day in the sun at Montrose Beach; it is a hub for late night luaus, delicious bites and live music throughout the summer!” Some proposed menu items at The Dock would be available exclusively on the rooftop and cost as much as $21.95 for crispy pork belly.
Wilkin Gibart said he was concerned that the Dock’s plans are “designed to attract patrons independent of any public-trust uses.”
Vendors Want to Attract Different Customers
Luke Cholodecki, a partner in Dock Bradford, LLC, told commissioners, “Bradford Beach right now, from our perspective...is oftentimes filled with people who are not residents of the neighborhoods. They’re coming from all places, far [and] near, to make use of this beach and it’s not necessarily welcoming to older residents or families… By having a restaurant...with table service, we feel we will be better able to serve the residents that live along that area [near the beach].”
Several commissioners questioned the vendors about their intent, stated in their application, to change “the neighborhood mix” on the beach and in the pavilion. County Sup. Felesia Martin said she wanted “clarity that all Milwaukee residents and Wisconsin residents and visitors alike...are welcome at our beachfront, regardless of physical appearance or where you're from...or your ethnic background or ZIP code.”
State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, another LDAC commissioner, challenged what the vendors meant by wanting their restaurant to appeal to nearby residents. “I’ve lived in Milwaukee my whole life, in the neighborhood by the lakefront—we’re those neighbors you talk about...That geography gives us absolutely no more claim...to that beach than anyone else in the community. And for you to suggest that there are certain desirables or undesirables, or whatever dog-whistle language you use...is wildly inappropriate and offensive,” said Brostoff. “You’re using coded language, since we know that the neighborhood near the lake is predominantly white.” He rhetorically asked, “How does changing the demographics of people [visiting] the beach improve our community?”
Commissioner James Hall expressed concern that the proposed restaurant would deter, rather than promote, a welcoming public space. He pressed for data about the current customer base at Bradford “and how it might be in the future.” Cholodecki replied that current customers reflect whoever is at the beach at any given time. “As for this new dining...I think you're going to have more families dining than you currently do.”
Restricting Seating in a Public Space
Cholodecki told commissioners that the food-and-beverage concessions they provide at Bradford Beach already restrict seating to paying customers—which was news to some commissioners. “We are going to open up some seating areas now reserved for patrons, since we will not need [it]...with additional capacity” on the rooftop. He said non-patrons would not be allowed to sit upstairs where table service would be provided, “since we have to set up the tables properly...In that respect, we can't have just anybody sit there.”
The vendors also intend to book private parties on the rooftop. Choloecki asserted that their contract gives them “the right to close off the entire restaurant area” but that it would be bad for business to do so frequently. “If you come to the beach thinking that you're going to...eat at our establishment, and then we’re closed, that's a terrible way to operate.” A review of The Dock’s contract for management and operation of food, beverage, and recreation services at Bradford contradicts The Dock’s plans for private seating and events. It says: “The Premises shall remain open and available to the public during regular hours the Park remains open...The concession is scheduled to be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting.” The Milwaukee County Board is charged with oversight of all policies and contracts relating to county-stewarded parkland.
Ald. Nik Kovac, another commissioner, said “It’s inherently problematic” that the Bradford vendor has been restricting access to seating on a public beach, and intends to continue doing so, albeit in different areas. He also doubted that most people would feel welcome to “walk through the space” if it was clearly meant to accommodate only customers.
County Sup. Sheldon Wasserman, who also chairs the county board's Parks, Energy and Environment Committee, supports having an upscale, sit-down restaurant at Bradford Beach in his district. Wasserman said at the hearing, “There's a tremendous ageism that takes place on this beach” due to the volleyball courts attracting many young people. “We need to have a restaurant, just like Harbor House, that brings in older people...to potentially sit down in a safe environment.”
Wasserman, also a commissioner, asked about other businesses on the lakefront, including Harbor House, a fine-dining restaurant east of downtown. Michael Cain, representing Wisconsin's Green Fire: Voices of Conservation, formerly served as a DNR attorney for 34 years. Cain said he had reviewed development proposals for lakebed-grant land throughout Wisconsin. He said that its predecessor, Pieces of Eight, was repeatedly cited as a precedent. “So we asked the attorney general about it, who found that it was not lawfully constructed to begin with,” said Cain.
However, Pieces of Eight was built before DNR existed, and it had been operating for more than 20 years by then. Although it was "not a hot-dog stand by any stretch of the imagination," Cain said the state chose not to assert its “reversionary interest” at that late date and thus allowed it to continue.
“If we had not maintained vigilance over time, Milwaukee's open lakefront would now be filled up with inappropriate developments and unavailable as a valuable resource for everyone to enjoy,” Cain said. “Also, public waterfronts around the state would soon be cluttered with these things.”
The LDAC will meet again on Wednesday, February 17, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., accessible virtually through the County Legislative Information Center (CLIC). The meeting will be for commissioners to discuss and develop their recommendations respecting the Dock proposal. LDAC will consider testimony from the first hearing as well as written comments and materials submitted.
Additional public comments and information may be submitted about the proposal until Wednesday, February 10, at 5 p.m. by emailing billlynch@me.com, with a copy to: kelsey.evans@milwaukeecountywi.gov. Post-hearing submissions will be added to those previously posted on the CLIC website.
For more, visit a related article on the privatization of Bradford Beach.
