Hamilton Home Design
Architectural renderings of the proposed 1202 (front) and 1206 Sweetbriar buildings.
Renderings of the single family homes at 1202 and 1206 Sweetbriar Road in Shorewood developer Bryan Rieber is looking to build.
Local developer Bryan Rieber is looking to build two single-family homes in the village of Shorewood Hills on a tree-lined and quiet residential street close to the UW Health University Hospital.
He’s been met with resistance. After more than 10 residents filed complaints alleging they were “aggrieved” by one of the properties, located at 1202 Sweetbriar Road, the village’s zoning board of appeals rescinded a zoning permit previously awarded to Rieber, arguing the property did not meet off-street parking requirements required by village ordinance.
And a pending change to the village’s zoning code, says Rieber, could potentially force him to completely redesign the 1202 Sweetbriar Road project and another one nearby at 1206 Sweetbriar Road, which has not yet received a building permit.
The lots are currently undeveloped and covered with foliage.
Rieber, who’s still fighting to get the projects approved, says residents are opposed to housing density, an attitude he says permeates the village.
“I want to build some houses,” Rieber says in an interview. “These neighbors would like houses to not be built.”
Rieber’s development isn’t the only recent proposal in the village of some 2,200 residents to face backlash: the village abandoned a $6.5 million purchase of the mixed-use Lodgic Building alongside University Avenue, meant to be the new village hall, after residents organized against the project.
Some recent village Board of Trustees meetings have devolved into shouting matches and accusations of a lack of transparency around both proposals. Several recent board meetings Isthmus watched featured an hour or more of public comment, much of which was critical of board members.
Rieber argues the village needs new housing and development to bring in more property taxes. Between 2011 and 2022, the village’s total taxable property value increased 15%, but inflation increased 31.6% in the same period.
According to Village Administrator Brian Mooney, that inflation means “the pressures are growing on our municipal budget.” Sparse new construction in 2024 meant the most the village could increase its levy by was $10,000, according to Mooney; property taxes make up 66% of the village’s revenue.
“One of the things that the board is going to need to consider and explore in the future are ways that we can create new revenue streams and/or revisit potential cost savings as we move forward in the coming months and years,” Mooney said at a Nov. 12 meeting of the village’s budget committee.
Rieber remains hopeful his projects will be approved.
“Maybe there could be reasonable conversation,” he says. “The village needs more revenue by building houses here — this builds ongoing tax base. These properties are close to the elementary school, which apparently has declining enrollment. So this is good for the community. This is reasonable infill.”
Opponents argue that Rieber's proposals deviate from a zoning ordinance that spells out how far a house must be built from a property’s lot line. The village’s current zoning ordinances in R-1 and R-2 residential zoning districts mandate, in most cases, a minimum 25-foot setback from the lot line. Setbacks are useful to establish areas for utilities and emergency services to operate, Mooney says in an interview. They also help protect homes from traffic and other activities in roadways.
“[Setbacks] establish a standard by which all homes can be built, and still allow for that room for the municipality to operate and not pose any safety concerns,” Mooney says.
But the code provides an exemption that prevents the setback requirement from reducing the buildable area of a lot — measured by the distance between its front and back lot lines — to under 40 feet. Both of Rieber’s proposals on Sweetbriar Road, he says, meet the exemption.
Rieber says the certified survey map for the properties was approved in January 2025 and found to be in compliance with the village’s zoning code.
Neighbors have been unhappy with that result. In recent meetings, there has been a storm of public comments opposing his developments and questioning whether Rieber gamed the zoning code. In response, the village’s plan commission prepared an ordinance change that would eliminate the setback exemption and set a universal 25-foot setback throughout R-1 and R-2 zoning districts. Many residents are urging the village board to quickly approve it in order to prevent Rieber’s projects from being constructed as designed; the proposed change was unanimously approved by the village’s plan commission on Nov. 12.
“Time is of the essence,” village resident Jeannie Roberts said at the commission meeting, which took place virtually. “It’s important to get it in writing and in ordinance so it protects neighbors from the encroachment which we have recently seen attempted.”
Said another resident, Paul Lambert: “We do not want to destroy the character of this village. Anything that is done under the old ordinance will lead to that.”
John Imes, president of the village’s board of trustees and chair of its plan commission, says in an interview that the ordinance change would help clarify the village’s building standards for developers and village staff.
“It's been pretty controversial in the village with some of these development proposals,” Imes says. “Reducing the ambiguity, and reducing and addressing the concerns that residents have raised. I think this is a good first step.”
Rieber says he is currently waiting for action on the properties’ zoning permits after revising their designs to include more off-street parking. The applications would be evaluated under the village’s current zoning code; he worries, however, that they could be rejected and then be evaluated under the revised setback requirement, if it is adopted.
“This is the biggest risk to my project,” he says. The ordinance change would likely come before the village’s Board of Trustees for a vote in December.
“If Bryan [Rieber] has that argument, that concern, he's going to bring it to the public hearing and, and that's going to be weighed with other public comments that we receive,” says Imes. “I certainly support additional housing in the village, but I think we can do it in a way that removes some of these ambiguities and ensures some consistency for property owners and for staff.”
Things could get more complicated soon. The village is holding a special meeting Monday morning to discuss a formal request from two village trustees — Carol Barford and Dietmar Bassüner — that Imes resign due to a “lack of trust, honesty, and general conduct of business” during conversations around the failed purchase of the building that formerly housed Lodgic.
Imes, reached for comment, says “the allegations raised ahead of Monday’s special meeting are not supported by the facts.”
“Every trustee had access to the same information throughout the Lodgic process. We relied on a shared set of appraisals, independent financial review, public input, and staff materials,” Imes says. “When questions were raised about a detailed Lodgic P&L spreadsheet, we reviewed our records and confirmed that the Village never received that document. That’s not a matter of opinion — it’s a verifiable fact.”
Adds Imes: “What concerns me most is the broader tone this has taken on. The rising level of personal attacks and mistrust is not reflective of how Shorewood Hills has traditionally governed. It’s not healthy for our staff, our community, or our ability to make sound decisions.”
