Common Council

Raemisch Farm Deserves Our Support

Fellow Northsiders,

We are presented with a huge opportunity that will benefit all of us on the Northside. But we need to act now.

The Raemisch Farm property should be ours to decide. We live here, raise our families here, work here, own businesses here, and some of us dream of owning a piece of real estate here 

on the Northside instead of just continuing to pay rent. This is what the Raemisch Farm property will provide. 

It's a piece of EQUITY on the Northside, ripe with promise and opportunity. In an area increasingly short on housing that working people can afford, this land offers options. The developper, Green Street, plans for a mix of needed market rate and workforce housing. The 76 homes would be similar in character and size to the nearby Whitetail Ridge homes. The 2- and 4-unit townhomes would help bridge the housing needs of young families as they progress from apartment living to home ownership. The mix of housing adds to the diversity of housing stock on the Northside, which is heavily low income. Young professionals need a place to live while they are growing their careers. 

The Northside is crying out for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and this is our chance. This property is critical to the solution. Providing access to quality workforce housing will help address inequality, allow for the  creation of jobs, and increase tax revenue which will fund our growth though the development of a Tax incremental District(TID)

This plan INVESTS IN OUR YOUTH. In 2020, the Raemisch Farm was annexed from the Town of Burke to the City of Madison so that the students would go to Madison schools instead of schools in Deforest. This development puts legs to this vision and builds up our kids. By providing safe, after-school activities for elementary students in our neighborhood. A number of acres are set aside for the Lake View Elementary School Outdoor classroom. The school supports it for the park, which would give students fun activities in a healthy environment to engage in after school, instead of heading directly to an empty home, as many of our students currently do. Converting this space would provide mountain biking trails, walking trails, and in the winter, cross country ski trails. Think of the learning opportunities that would open up to our school and the whole Northside community. 

This proposal also invests in NATURE and the ENVIRONMENT by maintaining 10.5 acres for Urban Agriculture to aid in sustainable living.

All of this is at our fingertips, but several of my colleagues oppose this opportunity. One objection has been the proximity to the airport and concerns about the F-35 airport noise. The F-35s are coming, whether we want them or not, so I'm working with Green Street to add soundproofing to the units in order to mitigate noise. Green Street intends to construct the multi-family buildings with direct exposure to the east with a Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating of 5-15 db above that of their standard construction based on the availability of supplemental city funding. While the planned multi-family buildings are located entirely outside of the 65db contour, this increased standard would be expected of buildings located within it.

People get to choose where they live, and there will be plenty of reasons for residents to choose this community as home! I support this development, and I'm not alone. The Northside Planning Council fully supports the development of this 63.5-acre parcel between Packers Ave. and N. Sherman Ave. known as the Raemisch Farm and says, "The Northside needs this new, well-planned neighborhood for the Northside to thrive." You can read their letter of recommendation here:

https://madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11176677&GUID=2CDC3FA4-CF7C-4FDC-8BB2-E29EDC625BA8

The planning commission, at its meeting on August 29, 2022, found the standards met and recommended approval of the preliminary plat (ID 72365) to the Common Council subject to conditions, which you can read at Agenda #89, linked below:

https://madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=892689&GUID=FD8E1B78-56C2-4D85-BDC4-AF27BC42EC41

Decisions will be made regarding zoning on part of this property at TONIGHT'S Common Council meeting, which begins at 6:30pm. You can attend tonight's meeting in person at 210 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Room 201 or watch online. You can give your public comments live at the meeting, or register to give your thoughts at the virtual meeting at this link: 

https://www.cityofmadison.com/city-hall/committees/meeting-schedule/register?meeting-id=54011

Register your support or opposition under Agenda #89.

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What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from you. You can email me at disctrict18@cityofmadison.com. Or let all my colleagues know how you feel by emailing allalders@cityofmadison.com