Common Council

Solstice Bonfire, SaltWise, Street Projects - D15 Update 12/19/22

Winter Solstice 20th Anniversary Celebration

On Wednesday at 4:30pm, come celebrate the winter solstice bonfire with friends and neighbors at Olbrich Park. You can find more details here. If you're able to leave the car at home and walk, bike or bus to the celebration, please do!

Salt Awareness

Winter weather is here and it's a great time to brush up on your snow & ice control technique. WI Salt Wise has great tips on how to do this effectively while minimizing the salt pollution of our lakes, streams, and groundwater. Their 5 minute video is a great place to start. City ordinances were also recently updated to require property owners to clean up any excess salt from sidewalks if too much is applied. You can find out more about the new requirements here.

Red Lights at Union Corners

I have received a number of questions and concerns regarding the red lights that were installed on the Nexus building on E. Washington. After review by the Zoning Office it was determined that the red line light accent on the building was not on any approved plans, and thus is not approved. The Zoning Office will be preparing a communication to the owner to require removal of the lighting elements.

Java Cat

I have also received questions about the Monona Drive/Cottage Grove development that was approved with a plan to include the Java Cat in a rebuilt cafe space. The cafe owner recently announced that they are no longer pursuing a new cafe space at this location. I received the following information from the developer in regards to current plans:

"Threshold Development was recently notified by Renee Raspiller, the owner of Java Cat, that she is focused on opening her new Lien road location and that she will not be returning to our Monona Drive project. While we were saddened by the news we respect Renee's decision. Our understanding is that her decision not to return was a complex one that included factors beyond our control. Our intention from the beginning was to support Java Cat in returning to the site. We invited open ended conversation to explore how we might be supportive, and funded preliminary architectural renderings to support the owner's own feasibility analysis. We wish Java Cat well at their new location and hope to identify a local operator wanting to bring a cafe to our new building."

Voit Recording

Last week, Starkweather LLC hosted their 2nd public meeting on a proposed redevelopment of the Voit property. You can find a news article here and a recording of the meeting here. 

2023 Street Reconstruction Projects

Four street projects are planned in District 15 for 2023. These include: BRT improvements on E. Washington; full reconstruction of Atwood Avenue between Cottage Grove Road and Fair Oaks including new off-street bikeways; full reconstruction of Dempsey/Davies; and full reconstruction of portions of Hudson/Miller/Willard/Center/Sommers. 

A Public Information Meeting has been scheduled for Dempsey/Davies on January 31 and for Hudson/Miller/Willard/Center/Sommers on January 26. You can find a larger map of planned reconstruction projects for the next 5 years here.

Off Until January

I will be taking some time off over the holidays and will be back with my next update in the new year. Here's hoping you all get to spend a lot of time with those you love.

In the News

• Update on District 12 Common Council Vacancy

• Membership and leadership changes at the Police Civilian Oversight Board

• Streets Division Drop-off Sites Now on Winter Hours

• Tips for Safe Use of Your Electric Bikes, Scooters, and Skateboards

• Madison Parks Moves to Olin Park

• Madison Commons, Media Digest

• City of Madison Complete Meeting Schedule

• City of Madison Calendar of Events

District 15 Public Works Projects

(You can find a map of current public works projects in District 15 here. You can find a map of future road projects here.)

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

• Eastmorland Sidewalk Installation

• Starkweather Creek Watershed Flood Study

• East Isthmus & Yahara River Watershed Study

• Atwood Avenue/Olbrich Path

• Davies St., Dempsey Rd., Maher Ave.

• Worthington Avenue, Powers Avenue, Thurber Avenue Sanitary Replacement

• Garver Office/Olbrich Cottage Repointing

District 15 Development Projects (dates are tentative and subject to change)

• 3900 Monona Drive

  • 4/7 - Public Information Meeting

  • 4/11 - Submission of application

  • 6/13 - Plan Commission

  • 6/21 - Council meeting

• 219 N. Fair Oaks

  • 7/7 - Public Information Meeting

  • 11/7 - Plan Commission

  • 11/22 - Common Council

• Voit Redevelopment

  • 6/30 - PIM #1

  • 12/8 - PIM #2

Save the Date

• 1/26 - Hudson/Miller/Willard/Center/Sommers Public Information Meeting

• 1/31 - Dempsey/Davies Public Information Meeting

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.