Three Leaf Partners and Milwaukee Rescue Mission VS NBCU, UA
Background:
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission “New Journeys” development in New Berlin is not about helping people entering their program. It is about helping Three Leaf Partners build on what is otherwise virtually undevelopable land. Members of Three Leaf Partners initiated discussions with New Berlin city staff, stating that they experienced hardship owning the land “for nearly 5 years”, and requested they assist the property owners in finding a “solution”. While the two tax keys are owned by Moorland Hospitality, LLC and Democat, LLC respectively, the interested parties of these shell companies are revealed to be members of Three Leaf Partners though open records requests.
Their proposed solution is a 57,000 sq. ft. drug-rehabilitation facility that would transport men struggling with substance use disorder, primarily from Milwaukee, to New Berlin through the Milwaukee Rescue Mission’s “New Journeys” program. City staff initially disagreed with the developer, noting that a drug-rehabilitation facility (residential treatment facility) would require I-1 or Rm1 zoning in New Berlin. The mission’s current campus in Milwaukee is appropriately zoned per these requirements.
After private talks between city staff and the developer, a pre-determination was made that the facility is "arguably" a "church." This was based on the presence of a small, internal chapel for residents, which was used to classify the facility as a “Community-Scale Church” under Sec. 275-70 of the New Berlin zoning code. However, this is inaccurate. The 57,000 sq. ft. facility does not primarily function as a place of religious gathering and appears to be using a secondary function to circumvent zoning restrictions that would otherwise apply to its principal use.
NBCU, UA Filing for an Appeal:
As a group of concerned, organized residents, the New Berlin Citizens United issued a “request for review of determination” to the municipal authorities of the city of New Berlin within 30 days of the initial decision, legally compliant with Wis. Stat. 68.08. Upon receiving notification of the right to appeal as an aggrieved party, New Berlin Citizens United properly and timely filed the appropriate forms and fees with the clerk, initiating the appeals process with the New Berlin Board of Appeals compliant with Wis. Stat. 68.09 for municipal administrative appeals. This appeal was proceeding in accordance with Wis. Stat. 68.11 - hearing on administrative appeals, when the developer abruptly and pre-emptively filed a petition to the Waukesha County Court.
The Applicant and Developer’s Petition to Court:
The Milwaukee Rescue Mission and Three Leaf Partners are trying to strip New Berlin residents of their legal rights to due process under the Fifth Amendment. CEO Patrick Vanderburgh calls this process “unfair,” as if citizens shouldn’t be allowed to question whether a massive 57,000 sq. ft. drug-rehabilitation facility qualifies as a “church,” or consider the real impact on their community. Vanderburgh claims the facility would have zero impact on New Berlin emergency services, however, an open records request shows there were nearly 700 police and EMS calls to their Milwaukee location. New Berlin does not have the capacity to absorb this influx in demand to their emergency resources.
Their plan is clear: invalidate the appeal, overturn the Common Council’s land-division denial, and bulldoze ahead with development—leaving the community powerless and voiceless. This isn’t about helping people—it’s about pushing a project through at any cost, while ignoring the voices of those it will affect most.