Photo credit: Dave Zylstra
Sanctuary Woods
An environmentally sensitive natural area known as “Sanctuary Woods” will likely live on in Wauwatosa. The city’s Common Council voted recently to rezone 58 acres of the site as a conservation district. Since zoning is variable, more permanent legal protections are also being explored.
For several years, advocates for Sanctuary Woods communicated concerns to governmental officials about the site’s community significance. Several public meetings drew hundreds of citizens calling for the woods’ preservation. This is the last parcel undisturbed by modern development within the Milwaukee County Grounds, which once comprised more than 1,000 acres north and south of Watertown Plank Road west of the Village of Wauwatosa.
The County Grounds was once home to numerous county institutions serving health and other community needs. Architecturally distinctive brick buildings originally were nestled within woods, fields and gardens. The area now known as Sanctuary Woods was originally designed as a parklike setting to provide respite for people living in an asylum built in the late 19th century. More recently, the woods became cherished for its habitat which attracts rare species of wildlife, including long-eared owls and flying squirrels. It also contains evocative remnants of stone staircases and other structures that were part of the original designed landscape.
Wauwatosa and Milwaukee County officials had proposed redeveloping, rather than conserving, much of Sanctuary Woods. In January 2017, the Life Sciences District Master Plan— commissioned by the city and county and developed by GRAEF, a Milwaukee-based engineering firm—proposed high-density development, roads and minimal conservation.
For three years, citizens repeatedly told elected officials in Wauwatosa and Milwaukee County why this natural area, part of a broader environmental corridor, should be protected. Members of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors and the Wauwatosa Common Council gradually supported conservation of the woods. It borders the recently created County Grounds Park—55 acres of open space that is now a Milwaukee County park.
Other parts of the County Grounds already have been redeveloped for other uses, including the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, a housing development called the Echelon, several businesses, a hotel and a UW-Milwaukee research lab. Massive clear-cutting in 2013 of a savanna of ancient oak and maple trees left a stark site. Eddee Daniel, chronicling what he called a slaughter, wrote in a column:
|
|
“Why, it must be asked, all of the trees? It is a failure of imagination to suggest that any of the intended uses of the property are inconsistent with the retention of strategically situated, mature, beautiful trees. That the people who one day will work and live in this place would not have benefitted by their healing presence.”
The Power of Advocacy
Persistent advocacy by citizens played a role in the charting of a positive path forward for Sanctuary Woods, according to Barb Agnew of the County Grounds Coalition. Agnew has led the ecological preservation of the County Grounds for about 15 years, including working to retain a migratory roosting site for monarch butterflies that was being threatened by development. She says this habitat is recovering after intensive replanting and other efforts by Friends of the Monarch Trail.
Over time, members of the County Grounds Coalition conducted extensive research about environmental issues and other community impacts of proposed development. Although most coalition leaders hailed from Wauwatosa, regional experts also provided research and support. In October 2017, Sanctuary Woods received national recognition when The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TLCF) included it on its annual “Landslide” list of threatened cultural landscapes. That helped increase visibility of the woods’ conservation value. A recent newsletter from TCLF reported on Sanctuary Woods getting “saved.”
Housing Development Proposed Nearby
A group of three investors operating as Samapa, LLC, is proposing to build a 147-unit, five-story housing development bordering Sanctuary Woods. Called the Watertown, it is being designed to provide rental units for medical students and others. The investor group purchased the parcel from Milwaukee County, which includes a former food-services building that would be demolished.
Conserved natural areas in urban settings can be negatively impacted by nearby structures and other development, thereby limiting their habitat value. To address those issues, Wauwatosa’s Common Council has required that developers of the proposed complex meet with County Grounds Coalition members to consider design elements to help protect wildlife. One proposal is a 20-foot buffer of evergreen trees between the development and the woods.
At a recent hearing about the proposed development site’s rezoning, Dain Maddox, a member of the coalition, praised the council’s directive. “This mandate for collaboration is wise and fruitful. It’s a good model for us to consider when wrestling with complex, highly emotional issues. It encourages developing better ideas and promotes healthy community relationships.” Other speakers expressed support, opposition and wait-and-see perspectives. Several medical students endorsed the development’s concept. Some Wauwatosa residents opposed building a tall, high-density building so close to an environmentally sensitive area.
Jonathan Piel, who identified himself as an amateur historian, raised concerns about potential impacts of artesian well injection-invasion points near the proposed development site, which are identified on historical maps. In a report about the city’s artesian well history, Piel included a historic sign that bragged about Wauwatosa’s “Good Schools, Artesian Water.” Piel told the council he has observed water ingress “in all the tunnels in the area.” He also asked the council to be wary of the city assuming the risk of mitigating potential flood hazards for such development or increased development costs.
Peter Abbott, chairman of the County Grounds Coalition, said the group was encouraged by meetings with the developers but is holding off on taking a position. He urged that design commitments for protecting environmental habitat be memorialized in the planning and construction process.
People concerned with protecting Sanctuary Woods and other natural areas within the County Grounds recently began meeting to create a friends group. They are consulting with a local nonprofit organization called The Park People of Milwaukee County, which has assisted with the launching of park friends groups since 1977. Agnew said organizers are considering calling themselves Friends of County Grounds Park to reflect holistic concerns. She hopes that the group will be able to “continue to help put this piece of land back together.” Publicly owned parcels include open fields, an upland meadow, oak savanna, wetlands, streams and woodlands.
A Landscape’s Healing Powers
Sanctuary Woods and all of the County Grounds embody complex histories. Daniel has photographed and written about the County Grounds for many years, including a book, The Milwaukee County Grounds: Island of Hope, and on his blogs, “Urban Wilderness” and “The Natural Realm.”
Piel has informally led the chronicling of threads of County Grounds history for the past four years. He has compiled historic descriptive texts, maps and photos on an interactive website, conducts frequent tours of the site and collaborates with others delving into local history. He said many people have found it inspiring to visit the site with others in order to learn more about its history and share their feelings about the place. Maddox said, “The cultural and social value of the woods has long been a critical part of its healing role for many within the community. Those aspects are part of its overall ecosystem.”
One unsolved mystery is the identity of the original landscape designer of the historic park-like landscape around the asylum, which included a lake, bridges and a sunken garden. The setting was long-featured in postcards and other civic promotions.
One proposal is for the woods to officially become joined with the existing County Grounds Park, which is part of the county’s park system. The future indeed looks promising for a landscape that has been valued by Milwaukee County residents since the 19th century.
