Neighborhood Mixed-Use District (NMX) Zoning Code

Mineral Point Road is back in the news again! This week, several residents reached out to me regarding the recent court decision concerning the property at 3734 Speedway Road, as reported in the Wisconsin State Journal on 1/30/24. If you look at the map above, this property is zoned within a neighborhood mixed-use district (NMX). According to Madison’s zoning code ordinance 28.064, a NMX district is “established to encourage and sustain the viability of commercial nodes that serve the shopping needs of residents in adjacent neighborhoods.” Although this particular development is situated outside the boundaries of District 11, its proximity prompted me to share a summary of the situation provided to me by the City Attorney on the property's future trajectory. 

“Last Thursday [1/25/24], in the case of Barnes vs. the Dane County Circuit Court vacated a Conditional Use Permit (“CUP”) for a multi-use development at 3734 Speedway Road that was originally granted in May 2022.  The site is well under construction (it is very unusual to have a CUP vacated at this stage) so we are still working through the best procedural options but are in communication with the developer about their obligations and restrictions following the ruling.  The top-level summary is that the Judge found that there was not enough discussion in the Plan Commission decision about parking in the building envelope to support the “substantial evidence” standard required for approving the CUP.” 
- Michael Haas, City Attorney, Madison

I was sworn in as Alder in June 2022 and didn't have the opportunity to vote on this controversial development that year. I'm now acquainting myself with the specifics of this property and learning more about zoning codes and specifically neighborhood mixed-use district (NMX).  If you look at the Citywide Zoning Map, the areas in District 11 that are zoned NMX are as follows:

• SW corner of Glenway/Speedway & Mineral Point
• NW corner of Midvale & Regent
• East side of Segoe near Sawyer Terrace
• Stretch of Old Middleton Rd. west of N Whitney Way

To explore the topic of city zoning codes in further detail, the next District 11 Book Club will be held on Wednesday, March 20th at the Sequoya Library from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The book we will be discussing is the 2022 book by M. Nolan Gray, “Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It.” Copies of the book are available for you to check out from the Sequoya library. Looking forward to seeing you there.