D6 Items of Interest Week of February 12, 2024

Tuesday’s Council meeting has lots of new business for introduction and referral. The big items will be the first three on the agenda: The annual Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award given this year to former Madison Poet Laureate Dr. Fabu Carter, commending Greg Mickells upon his retirement for his inspired leadership of and service to the Madison Public Library, and a presentation about the 2025 budget outlook from Finance staff. 

On Wednesday, Common Wealth Development is celebrating their 45th anniversary.  Created by Marquette neighborhood activists in 1979, Common Wealth Development has expanded to apply their unique approach to community and economic development citywide. They invested in the Marquette neighborhood to purchase and rehab older building stock for rent and for lease-to-own, keeping housing affordable for low-income and working-class residents. They opened two successful business incubators, initiated youth mentorship programs and adult employment initiatives. And they have utilized a trauma informed approach to violence and community care that helps participants with housing, food security, transportation, childcare and access to healthcare. Thank you Common Wealth Development for your amazing work. 

Monday February 12 – Landmarks Commission – 5p LC Agenda 02.12.24

4. 64022 Landmarks Commission Annual Report

Snip: “Staff continues to work on implementing the priority strategies from the preservation plan. The City completed a CLG grant-funded survey of known archaeological resources in order to prioritize future preservation and education efforts. With the completed survey, staff has initiated tribal consultation with the Ho-Chunk Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office. The City also hired a consultant to complete the Historic District Illustrated Design Guidelines. That work will be completed in 2024.”

Creating Historic District Illustrated Design Guidelines was something that LORC, the Landmarks Ordinance Review Committee, the alder work group I helped initiate and served on for several years, recommended during the update of our historic district ordinance.

Monday February 12 – Madison Arts Commission – 5:30p MAC Agenda 02.12.24

2. 81621 Authorizing the process to select a public art feature for the Imagination Center at Reindahl Park and authority to transfer of $25,000 in Percent for Art Funds from the Metro Transit Satellite Facility to the Imagination Center (District 12 and District 17) -Review & Vote

Fiscal Note: The proposed resolution further authorizes City staff to release a call for artist submissions for a public art piece for the Reindahl Imagination Center/Library project and for the Madison Arts Commission (MAC) to select three finalists from the submissions. The finalists will receive an honorarium in the amount of $1,500 each to be paid from the Percent for Art allocation. No additional City appropriation required.

On CC agenda Tuesday for final approval agenda #52.

3. 81653 Adopting the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan (District 4, District 13, District 14) -Review & Vote

Fiscal Note: No additional City appropriation is required with the adoption of the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan. The recommendations and action steps presented in the plan do not include cost estimates. City costs associated with implementing recommendations within the plan will be included in future capital and operating budgets, subject to Common Council approval.

Tuesday February 13 – Common Council – 6:30p CC Agenda 02.13.24

1. 81360 Awarding the 17th Annual Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award to Dr. Fabu Carter.
2. 81962 Commending and thanking Greg Mickells for his dedicated service to the Madison Public Library and the City of Madison.

 3. 81870 2025 Budget Outlook

The Finance Department recorded a four-part series to explain the fundamentals of the City’s budget and options for closing the budget deficit. One goal of the series is to provide a general understanding of the overall City budget as a first step, followed by an explanation of what has been termed the “structural deficit”.  This informational series is a first step toward deciding on an approach to balancing next year’s budget.  2025 Budget Overview on Finance's Website

6. 81317 Public Hearing - New License Mad Rabbit Cafe LLC • dba Mad Rabbit Cafe 805 Williamson St • Agent: Nathaniel Anger Estimated Capacity (in/out): 24/0 Class B Beer, Class C Wine • 10% alcohol, 90% food Police Sector 408 (District 6)

8. 81319 Public Hearing - New License The Le Le Group LLC • dba Ha Long Bay 1353 Williamson St • Agent: Jacqueline Le Estimated Capacity (in/out): 100/0 Class B Combination Liquor & Beer • 15% alcohol, 85% food Police Sector 410 (District 6)

12. 81316 Amending Section 33.24(15)(e)12.b. related to Upper-Level Development Standards of the Madison General Ordinances to clarify how stories are measured in Urban Design District 8. (Alder District 6) Sponsors: Marsha A. Rummel

Staff Report: UDD 8 currently allows for a maximum 14-story building [block 2b was amended in a previous action to allow bonus stories for 702 E Washington], if findings could be made to grant the necessary bonus stories. As a result of this text amendment, while a building could appear to be a 14-story building from East Washington Avenue, and the building would be below the maximum allowable height, it could still be considered 15 stories under the different methodology utilized in the Zoning Code based on a calculation of the parking levels.

25. 81592 Updating the City’s policy for the assessment of sanitary sewer improvements to serve unsewered and sewered lands located within the current and future boundaries of the City of Madison. (Citywide) Sponsors: Satya V. Rhodes-Conway, Marsha A. Rummel, Derek Field And Amani Latimer Burris

I have been talking with the Mayor and working with Alders Field and Latimer Burris on policy changes to remove some of the barriers to using tax incremental financing to pay for sewer pipe upsizing to serve new residents especially in Transit Oriented Development Overlay areas where growth is anticipated.

41. 81622 Accepting $400,000 from Dane County, authorized in the County’s 2024 Adopted Budget to support the Dairy Drive urban campground, amending the Community Development Division’s 2024 Operating Budget to reflect receipt of those funds, authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into a contract with Dane County, and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into a contract with MACH OneHealth to use these funds to support the Dairy Drive campground, to supplement City-administered American Rescue Plan Act funds previously allocated to the campground and other funding secured by MACH OneHealth from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (District 16)

42. 81625 Authorizing amendments to Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) funded contracts with Urban Triage, Inc. and LGBT Outreach, Inc. on behalf of the Madison/Dane County Continuum of Care (CoC), authorizing an amendment with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to extend the YHDP grant’s performance period, and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute new Purchase of Service agreements for services performed between January 1, 2024 and February 28, 2025.

43. 81628 SUBSTITUTE Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute contract amendments, utilizing federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds awarded by the U.S. Treasury Department and authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to the African Center for Community Development; Meadowood Neighborhood Association/Meadowood Health Partnership; Nehemiah Community Development Corporation, with FOSTER of Dane County; and Tenant Resource Center to sustain efforts to prevent evictions and promote housing stability for eligible households in Dane County. (Citywide)

50. 81566 Authorizing a non-competitive service contract with Sustain Dane through 2026 to administer the Efficiency Navigator Program to provide energy efficiency upgrades to naturally occurring affordable housing.

60. 81933 Chief of Police 4th Quarter Report: Chief Shon F. Barnes, Madison Police Department Chief of Police 4th Qtr Report

The Report will also be discussed at Wednesday’s Public Safety Review Committee Agenda 02.14.24 at 5p. 

64. 81632 Endorsing and Prioritizing Improvement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity as Part of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s I-39/90/94 Study and Reconstruction

INTRODUCTION OF NEW BUSINESS FOR REFERRAL WITHOUT DEBATE

67. 81908 Amending Section 33.24(15)(e)5.a. of the Madison General Ordinances related to Urban Design Landscaping and Open Space to remove the minimum terrace width requirement with Urban Design District No. 8.

DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS: “This proposed change removes the requirement under MGO Sec. 33.24(15)(e)5.a.v. that terraces in Urban Design District No. 8 have a minimum width of ten (10) feet to accommodate growth of canopy trees. This requirement is no longer needed with the adoption approval and adoption of the Complete Green Streets Policy and guide, which outlines street design parameters, including provides for updated desired terrace measurements for the promotion of canopy trees. In addition to Complete Green Streets, the City Forester reviews items related to tree planting and can assess the correct width to support healthy tree growth.”

Alder comments: I was dumbfounded to learn during the Plan Commission’s recent approval of the Conditional Use and Demolition permit applications for 702 E Washington that the UDD 8 requirement (an ordinance on the books since c2008) for a ten-foot terrace to allow for canopy trees has never been enforced by City Engineering which has authority over street terraces. Plan Commission Chair Ledell Zellers noticed the discrepancy on another project in UDD 8 as well as for 702 E Washington, but it took several months for her to get an answer from planning staff. 

Neither Plan Commission nor the Urban Design Commission have authority over the right of way design (the street terrace). The right of way is reviewed by the Board of Public Works and approved by the Common Council (via Plans and Specs resolutions). Such designs are typically approved after the UDC and PC have completed their review. According to staff, in most of the UDD 8 projects on E Wash, Engineering generally required an 8-foot terrace. In addition, the Complete Green Streets design specifications have been identified by staff as the more restrictive design parameters.

Two of the alders who serve on the Plan Commission have sponsored an amendment to make UDD 8 terrace requirement conform with the Complete Green Streets Policy.

As noted in the Statement of Purpose for UDD 8: “Urban Design District No. 8 is hereby established to improve the appearance and function of the District. It is intended to be the key implementation mechanism to further the four Core Development Principles set out in the adopted East Washington Avenue Capitol Gateway Corridor Plan. These principles are 1) to protect the iconic view of the Capitol, 2) to respect and strengthen existing neighborhoods, 3) to establish a transit-oriented employment corridor, and 4) to create a vibrant boulevard along East Washington Avenue.”  Wikipedia defines boulevard as “a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees”. 

The amendment would delete “33.24(15)(e) 5. a. v.:  Terraces shall have a minimum width of ten (10) feet to accommodate growth of canopy trees”.  I note that in the Landscape and Open Space requirements section of the UDD 8 ordinance 33.24(15)(e)5.a, canopy trees are referenced in seven of the nine requirements, see ii-viii, not just in v.

I’m not convinced the ten-foot terraces “are no longer needed” per the drafter’s analysis but it’s clear that the argument for consistency with the new Complete Green Streets policy will hold sway since it is considered more restrictive. The Transportation Commission is the committee that reviews implementation of the Complete Green Streets Policy so that is where the discussions about potential exceptions to or expansions of the 8-foot requirement to promote canopy trees in the right of way should take place.

68. 81911 Amending Section 33.13(1) of the Madison General Ordinances related to composition of the Common Council Executive Committee to modify the CCEC appointment process. 

DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS:” Under current ordinance, the Common Council President appoints five members of the Common Council Executive Committee (CCEC) as well as an alternate in the event that the immediate past President is no longer a member of the Council or continues to serve as President or Vice President. This ordinance would change the CCEC appointment process so that five members are chosen randomly from among the alders who wish to serve on the Committee. If fewer than five members submit their names to be appointed, the Council President appoints the remaining members and those appointments are submitted to the Council for confirmation. Any appointment of an alternate in lieu of the immediate past President being appointed is also submitted to the Common Council for confirmation.”

I assume this will generate discussion among alders.

69. 81952 Amending Sections 28.151 and 28.211 of the Madison General Ordinances to allow Accessory Dwelling Units for properties with up to eight dwelling units and remove owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs.

74. 81965 Amending Sections within Chapter 28 of the Madison General Ordinances related to drive-through windows.

DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS:  “This proposed change amends several sections in MGO Chapter 28, the Zoning Code, that address “Vehicle Access Sales and Service Windows,” or commonly known as “Drive-Throughs”. First, the ordinance changes all “Vehicle Access Sales and Service Windows” to “Drive-Through Windows” for reader clarity. The site standards for Drive-Through Windows in the Transit-Oriented Developed Overlay District (MGO Sec. 28.104(8) and the applicable Supplemental Regulations (MGO Sec. 28.151) are amended to designate where the drive-through windows and automobile infrastructure may be located. All drive-throughs are also required to have pedestrian access. A definition for “Automobile Infrastructure” is added to MGO Sec. 28.211. Finally, MGO 28.194 is amended to add “Nonconforming Site Conditions” to establish that a lawful nonconforming site condition existing on the effective date of this ordinance may continue in its existing condition. However, no increase in the nonconformity of the site condition is permissible, unless otherwise allowed within Chapter 28.”

This amendment to address drive throughs is the result of the review of 1609 S Park St and its interface with the Transit Oriented Development Overlay district. I will take a closer look and make comments before it goes to Plan Commission and the Council.

75. 81966 Amending Section 28.185 of the Madison General Ordinances related to Approval of Demolition and Removal to expand considerations for properties with historic value or significance.

DRAFTER’S ANALYSIS: This proposed ordinance amends MGO Sec. 28.185 (Approval of Demolition and Removal) in response to a request by the Plan Commission. In order to best weigh demolition requests of buildings or sites with historic significance or value (as determined by the Landmarks Commission), the Plan Commission would like to include a wider discussion of how the proposal relates to the implementation of the City’s adopted plans.

80. 81906 Providing Golden Vibes Counseling Center or its assigns a $200,000 loan to purchase a commercial property at 825 Williamson Street through the Commercial Ownership Assistance program under the Small Business Equity and Recovery Program (SBER) using the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) aid Local Fiscal Recovery funds and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to sign an agreement with Golden Vibes Counseling Center or its assigns for that purpose. (District 6) Sponsors: Satya V. Rhodes-Conway And Marsha A. Rummel

81. 81915 A Resolution amending the Metro Transit Operating Budget to provide additional contracted services for regional partners.

Metro partners are growing rapidly and are seeking additional transit services to meet their needs.  Specifically, the following services have been requested:

• The University of Wisconsin has increased the number of buses on Route 80 to improve on-time performance and increase capacity
• Verona has requested additional short-turn trips between Epic and the end of Route B in Fitchburg
• Monona has requested to join as a Metro partner and establish a new route to serve their city

Partners will be paying for 100% of the costs of these services, but Metro will need to receive and expend the funding through the budgeting process to provide this service.

95. 81982 Approving and Adopting an Updated Policy for Assessing Street Improvements

Fiscal Note: The proposed resolution approves and adopts an updated Street Assessment Policy. The previous Street Assessment Policy was adopted via RES-22-00723 (Legistar #74024) on October 31, 2022. The previous policy remains intact with three policy changes: adjusting the assessment policy to allow for additional funding sources such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Federal, or State Funds; incentivizing the City to redevelop in certain areas (as shown in attached maps); and, distinguishing the difference between small pavement patches and resurfacing projects. Future projects will require separate capital budget authorization to apply the revised assessment policy. No appropriation is required at this time.

168. 81656 Amending the Land Banking Fund Policy to add urban agriculture as an appropriate secondary use for properties acquired through the fund.

Wednesday February 14 – Board of Park Commissioners – 6:30p BPC Agenda 02.14.24

7 82012 February 2024 Superintendent's Report

Art in Parks Policy – will be going through the Long Range Planning subcommittee and anticipated back to the Commission in the coming months. Until such time that this is adopted we are not currently accepting applications for installation of private art in the system.

Parks and Open Space Plan (POSP)  Parks staff and the Long Range Planning Subcommittee are working hard on the POSP update. MSA consulting and their team member All Together, are assisting the staff and committee members. Last weekend 5,000 randomly selected households received invites to complete the Parks Survey. We will have the results from the survey by mid-March. 

Save the dates for the following POSP Open Houses: ‐ Madison Memorial High School (Wisconsin Community Room); Thurs April 4th ‐ Warner Park Community Recreation Center (Meeting Room); Thurs April 25th ‐ Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Atrium) Thurs May 2nd ‐ Madison Parks (330 E Lakeside Conference Room); Thurs May 9th ‐ *all times are 5:30-7:30pm meeting .

Parks Alive + Movies in the Park: Parks Alive events and the Sina Davis Movies in the Park have both emerged from the work of the NRTs to bring communities together. The movies in the park often happen during Parks Alive events. From our research and resident requests at NRT meetings, there is a desire to have some input in the movies screened. In partnership with the Recreation Services Coordinator, we will open a voting option on the Parks Alive and Sina Davis Movies in the Park page for residents to vote on the movies screened this summer.

15 82038 The consideration and approval of a proposed request from University of WI to conduct wildlife study at and install temporary wildlife cameras at Olbrich North and Hartmeyer Roth. RECOMMEND APPROVAL

University of Wisconsin Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology Professor David Drake is requesting permission to conduct wildlife studies on two park owned parcels. Studies will include small mammals, medium to large mammals, avian species, along with amphibian and reptile species. The proposed plan outlines methods that will be used by scientists to conduct studies of each species. In addition, the proposed plan details the use and management of data from of wildlife cameras to assist in gathering observations and inventories of small and large mammal species.  Parks plans to develop recreation features at these parks in the next 3 to 5 years, and these wildlife studies will provide baseline studies of the wildlife ecology that currently exists on the sites. This information will be helpful in the design and planning of the new parks.

20 81937 Informational Report by Big Top events Regarding the 2024 Access Plan, Neighborhood Impact Plan, and Responsible Alcohol Consumption Action Plan at Breese Stevens. RECOMMEND ACCEPTANCE OF THE REPORT 

2024 Neighborhood Impact Plan and 2024 Field Access Plan

Big Top has worked on the 2024 plans for months, I appreciate their attention and diligence to address neighborhood concerns.

21 82014 Approving request from Big Top Events for a fireworks display on June 29, 2024 at Breese Stevens. RECOMMEND APPROVAL