Updates & Week of Feb. 20 Meetings of Interest for District 2

District 2 Updates and Meetings of Interest

 

City meetings continue to be mostly virtual with details listed in City Meetings of Interest below. Common Council meetings are hybrid so the public can attend in person or via Zoom.

 

Stay in touch with your neighbors through either Capitol Neighborhoods, Inc. or Campus Area Neighborhood Assoc.

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There are three sections to this week's update:

1. District 2 Updates
2. COVID-19 Resources & Information 
3. City Meetings of Interest to District 2

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1. DISTRICT 2 UPDATES

 

 

• Campus Area Neighborhood Association held a District 2 Alder Candidate Debate Forum last Monday. You can watch a recording of that forum here. District 2 Alder candidates Colin Barushok, Juliana Bennett, and Evan McSorley all attended. Note that the Spring Primary Election is this Tuesday, Feb. 21 - more details below.

• Starting Feb. 20: Television & Computer Recycling Free at Streets Division Drop-off Sites for Madison Residents

• Police Blotter: Buckle up! MPD conducting extra patrols enforcing seatbelt, alcohol laws

• From Madison Water Utility: Paperless billing, auto pay, and water usage viewing now available through the online payment portal

• City Launches Bilingual Community Connector Program for Increased Language Access and Equity

• Isthmus Safety Initiative Aims to Keep Downtown Madison Safe

• Chief Barnes encouraged by progress in 2022, looks forward to year ahead - Takeaways from the 2023 State of Public Safety Address

• Data Shows Significant Decline in Traffic Fatalities and Serious Injuries in Madison for Two Consecutive Years since Initiation of Vision Zero Program

• Mayor Rhodes-Conway on the Governor's Budget Address

• News and Events From Madison Parks

• The 2023 Neighborhood Grant Program is Open! The guidelines and application are now on the City's webpage! See the News Story for more info. Applications are due Feb. 20 by 4:30 p.m.

 

Information About Tuesday, Feb. 21, Spring Primary Election

• 2023 Spring Primary Election - Several offices on the ballot this spring require a primary election on Feb. 21. District 2 has three candidates running for Alder, so there will be a Feb. 21 primary for that election, as well as citywide in the Mayoral and State Supreme Court elections. The City Assessor's Office website allows you to find out which Aldermanic district you live in. Search by your address on the Property Look-up page.

• Candidates' answers to the League of Women Voters questionnaire are available at their website.

• In-Person Absentee Voting in Madison: In-person absentee voting for the Spring Primary Election in ongoing at several locations throughout the City of Madison. On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 18 and 19, the Central Library downtown will have absentee voting available, but absentee voting at most locations ends Saturday or are no longer available.

• There is no voter registration on the Saturday, Sunday, or Monday before a Tuesday election per state law. Voter registration will be available at your polling place on Tuesday.

• Looking for a sample ballot and your voting location? The offices and candidates on the ballot for your address, as well as your polling location, are listed at My Vote WI .

• Voting FAQ and information for students are here.

 

Common Council to Consider "Family Definition" on Tuesday

After unanimously passing Plan Commission last week, what is being referred to as a revision of the "Family Definition" in our zoning code will be considered by Common Council at our Tuesday, Feb. 28 meeting.

The proposed changes address several matters, but are primarily focused on the unequal treatment of renters and homeowners and related inequities in our current ordinances. As you can see in the chart above, Madison's rental market is very tough for Black households (HH), in particular, with average Black households being able to afford monthly rent that is much lower than the median Madison rent. In 2020, that gap was almost $600 per month. Given that Black households rent much more often than White households who dominate homeownership, it is very tough for the average Madison resident of color to afford their rent, more or less create wealth on a path to homeownership.

Also shown in the chart above, White households on average have much greater "rental power" than other races and ethnic groups. Supporters of these proposed changes believe that allowing more unrelated renters to live together will potentially address some of these large gaps. We also believe that our current ordinance is potentially in violation of our Equal Opportunities Ordinance that bans discrimination on the basis of student status and age, amongst other characteristics.

Here is the analysis of the proposed changes by city staff:

DRAFTER'S ANALYSIS:    This proposed ordinance amends several sections of MGO Chapter 28 in order to change the current definition of "family" in the zoning code. The family definition restricts the number of people who can live in an apartment or house together based on the zoning district, their ownership status or their relational status. The original intent of the family definition was to protect single family neighborhoods from college student renter households and was added to Madison's zoning code in 1966. Today, the restrictive family definition negatively impacts Madison's goals of increasing housing supply and equity. This proposed ordinance change expands the definition of family in order to expand housing options and equity.

Currently, over one third of land area in Madison is zoned to prohibit more than two unrelated renters from living together. In these same areas, owner-occupied housing units can house up to five unrelated individuals. These zoning districts are primarily lower density districts with single family houses. Other zoning districts allow a maximum of five unrelated individuals. A family could also be related individuals with up to four unrelated roommates. People of color and lower income residents are disproportionately affected by the current zoning definition of "family" because they are more likely to be renters and more likely to need to share a housing unit to afford rent.

This proposed ordinance change removes the distinction between owner-occupied households and renter-occupied households; allows two related families with children/dependents to live together as one household; removes the distinction between some zoning districts and others by creating the same occupancy standard for all zoning districts which allow housing; and updates the family language discussing people with disabilities. Finally, references to "Dependency Living Arrangement" are removed throughout Chapter 28 since they are no longer needed with the change to the family definition. Dependency Living Arrangement allowed for two kitchens in a dwelling unit if not owner-occupied, but that carve-out is no longer needed as it will now be allowed.

You can read an even more detailed analysis of the proposed changes by Building Inspection and Zoning staff here and find additional materials and public comment here. Building Inspection has also created a webpage with information on the proposal, including recordings of two community informational meetings that were held earlier this month.

As a co-sponsor of these proposed changes, I agree with the analysis provided by Building Inspection and Zoning Staff in their memo.

Some are calling for additional studies of the potential negative impacts of the changes, while others oppose them altogether. I am skeptical that useful data and studies will be available and that the many variables that make any predictions of future housing markets virtually impossible will shed additional light on potential negative impacts of the proposed changes, but it is important to discuss those and other impacts on Feb. 28.

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2. COVID-19 RESOURCES & INFORMATION

From Public Health Madison & Dane County:

• The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is offering two FREE COVID test kits per month. That's a total of ten tests, sent to your doorstep, each month. Order yours today.
• COVID-19 vaccine webpage
• Learn about the many testing sites in Dane County (in Spanish)
• COVID-19 Data Dashboard
• The latest Data Notes

Dane CORE - for rental and utility assistance.

Visit the City's Coronavirus Website for Madison's COVID updates, responses and resources.

Dane County Food Pantry Network from Community Action Coalition.

State of Wisconsin COVID-19 resources and information from state agencies, including the State Dept. Public Health

Info on UW-Madison's response to the pandemic.

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3. CITY MEETINGS OF INTEREST TO DISTRICT 2

Below are some pertinent agenda items from city committees that are meeting this week. If you click on meeting "Details" below, you will find participation and viewing options, and a link to the full meeting agenda. If you click on an item from within an agenda, you will see all documents that relate to that item.
 
I appreciate hearing from you on any agenda items on which you have a particular interest or concern.

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Committee on Aging: Details

2:30pm, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Agenda Item 4

2023 Year-at-a-Glance Overview of Older Adult Services

 

Agenda Item 6

Staff Reports

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Board of Public Works: Details

4:30pm, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023

 

PUBLIC HEARING OF RESOLUTIONS AND SCHEDULE OF ASSESSMENTS

 

Agenda Item 7

Approving Plans, Specifications, And Schedule Of Assessments For 500 block E. Washington Avenue Assessment District - 2023. (2nd AD)

The Board of Public Works is scheduled to hold Public Hearings virtually on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.

Note: This item is related to replacement of the sanitary sewer main and laterals on E. Washington Avenue between Franklin and Blair Streets in 2023.

 

ITEMS REFERRED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL

 

Agenda Item 8

Repealing Section 33.55 and 33.56 and recreating Section 33.56 of the Madison General Ordinances to create a Transportation Commission, and amending Sections 3.14 and 16.01 to remove references to the Transportation Policy and Planning Board.

Lead agency is Board of Public Works (2/22/23), with additional referral of the Transportation Commission and Transportation Policy & Planning Board (3/6/23).

RECOMMEND TO ADOPT

 

Agenda Item 9

Creating Section 33.56(5)(e) of the Madison General Ordinances to add Green Streets initiative to the responsibilities of the Transportation Commission.

Lead agency is Board of Public Works (2/22/23), with additional referral of the Transportation Commission and Transportation Policy & Planning Board (3/6/23).

RECOMMEND TO ADOPT

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Vending Oversight Committee: Details

5:00pm, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Agenda Item 2

Review and make Recommendation on Draft Ordinance:   Amending sec. 9.136(1)(n)3.c. of the Madison General Ordinances to change the implementation of the Library Mall Night Vending area from the 2023 vending season to 2024.

Action Item

 

REPORTS

 

Agenda Item 4

Street Vending Staff Report

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Transportation Commission: Details

5:00pm, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023

 

ITEMS TO BE CONSIDERED

 

Agenda Item 5

Traffic Signal Priority List

15 mins

Note: In District 2, the intersection of E. Johnson and N. Franklin Streets was evaluated as part of this prioritization study. Staff recommends "maintaining existing stop sign control configuration and adding this intersection to the Safe Streets Madison list to evaluate for traffic calming measures" rather than the installation of a stoplight. See the agenda item for more information at "Details" above.

 

Agenda Item 6

Quarterly Traffic Safety Report

30 mins

 

Agenda Item 7

Vision Zero Safety Data Update

30 mins

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Common Council Executive Committee: Details

5:30pm, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023

 

ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION

 

Agenda Item 3

BY TITLE ONLY Creating a Ranked-Choice Vote Process for Possible Operating Budget Amendments, for Advisory Purposes

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Housing Strategy Committee: Details

5:00pm, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023

 

ACTION ITEMS

 

Agenda Item 2

Amending Supplemental Regulations within Section 28.151 MGO and Definitions within Section 28.211 of the Madison General Ordinances to Update Definitions of "Family".

Note: See more on this item above in "District 2 Updates"

 

Agenda Item 3

BY TITLE ONLY: Repealing Sections 32.03 and 33.34 and amending Section 33.09(3) of the Madison General Ordinances to combine the City-County Homeless Issues Committee, Landlord and Tenant Issues Committee, and Housing Strategy Committee.

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Board of Canvassers for the City of Madison: Details

4:00pm, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 

 

Agenda Item 1

Tally results of any provisional ballots for which voters provided missing information by 4 p.m. Friday, February 24, 2023

 

Agenda Item 2

Review Inspectors' Statement documentation from each polling location 

 

Agenda Item 3

Review documentation for rejected absentees, and count any absentees that were erroneously rejected

 

Agenda Item 4

Certify the results of the February 21, 2023, mayoral and aldermanic primary contests

 

Agenda Item 5

Draw names to determine April ballot order for local candidates advancing past the primary 

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