Traffic Violence, PFAS, ADU Updates - D15 Update 12/20/21

ADU Changes Enacted

Last week, the ordinance updating regulations for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) was enacted following approval by the council on December 7th. Owners of many residential properties can now apply for permits to construct an ADU on their properties without needing to apply for a conditional use permit. If this is of interest to you, you can contact our zoning office with questions. Their contact information is here.

Traffic Violence

Also last week, there was a terrible car crash on Cottage Grove Road at Cottage Court that left three people dead. This section of Cottage Grove Road was highlighted in the recently released 2020 City of Madison Crash Facts where 5 crashes led to injuries and one crash resulted in a fatality between Dempsey Road and Acewood Boulevard. In addition to Cottage Grove Road, Milwaukee Street, Monona/Atwood, and Stoughton Road and E. Washington Avenue are all District 15 roadways that are contributing to the most public harm.

Using a measure of 'economic loss' to the community resulting from traffic crashes developed by the 2019 National Safety Council, the negative impact of traffic crashes in Madison last year totaled nearly $93 million. That's well over 1/3 of the total property taxes we collected in the same year ($250M) and much more than we spend on our transportation system each year.

There are a number of current initiatives that seek to improve the safety and effectiveness of our transportation system including Vision Zero, Complete & Green Streets, Safe Streets Madison, Twenty is Plenty, Metro Network Redesign, Bus Rapid Transit, Traffic Demand Managment, Transit Oriented Development, and more. 

We can all do our part by rethinking and reducing the amount of time we travel by motor vehicle in Madison. Combine and eliminate trips where possible, use your feet or a bike or take the bus for trips where that is feasible, and please drive slowly and with great care when you are behind the wheel.

Property Tax Bill

Property owners also received their 2021 tax bill last week and for most there is a sizable increase from previous years. This is in part due to the Madison Metropolitan School District referenda that passed on the 2020 general election ballot. The property tax bill is sent and collected by the City of Madison on behalf of four taxing jurisdictions: MADISON SCHOOLS, City of Madison, Dane County, and MATC.

For those over the age of 65 and meeting income limits there is a property tax assistance program available. More information is available at www.cityofmadison.com/homeloans or at (608) 266-6520.

Health Impacts of PFAS

On Monday, the President's Work Group on Environmental Justice will receive an informational presentation from WI DHS regarding the Health Impacts of PFAS. This is part of the work that the group has taken on to develop an outreach strategy and a plan for the City's role in addressing this environmental issue. Anyone that is interested in this topic can find links to register for comment as well as a link to the agenda and another to watch the discussion. All of those details can be found here.

New Year 

I will be taking a week off from updates to rejuvenate and to spend time with family and will be back in January. I wish you all the best as we transition through the winter solstice and look forward to the growing days ahead.

In the news

• Be on Santa's 'Good' List, Be Good to Your Pipes! 

• Omicron Variant in Dane County: Pay Attention, Don't Panic 

• Take Action: Protect Your Trees from Gypsy Moths

• More Large Item Set-outs Days Now Available in Work Order System 

• Madison Commons, Media Digest

• City of Madison Complete Meeting Schedule

District 15 Public Works Projects

(You can find a list of all engineering projects in District 15 here.)

• Starkweather Drive/Garver Path

• St. Paul Avenue, Ohio Avenue, Talmadge Street, Jackson Street, Lafollette Avenue Reconstruction

• Eastmorland Sidewalk Installation

• Davies St., Dempsey Rd., Maher Ave.

• Starkweather Creek Watershed Flood Study

• Atwood Avenue

Save the date

• January 6 - Dempsey/Davies virtual public information meeting Registration prior is required.
  Jan. 6, 2022 Public Information Meeting Registration 

• January 10 - LENA meeting

• January 11 - ECA meeting

• January 13 - SASY meeting

• January 17 - All potential applicants for the Neighborhood Grant Program must meet with city staff. Applications will be due February 7. Please send an email to neighborhoods@cityofmadison.com to request your pre-application meeting, and check the city's webpage for 2022 program materials.

Subscribe to the District 15 blog via the sidebar above to receive email notification when new updates are published. If you have any questions or thoughts you can reach me at district15@cityofmadison.com.