Planning

The Historic Preservation Plan

The Plan

Common Council adopted our first citywide preservation plan in May 2020. It includes strategies to:

Create a more equitable preservation program that tells the full story of Madison
Integrate preservation into policy and planning
Include preservation in land use, zoning, and development standards
Explore educational and promotional partnerships
Capitalize on economic development and financial incentives
Highlight sustainable building
Encourage heritage tourism

The plan was the city's first project that required all staff and consultants to complete the Racial Justice and Social Initiative training. As part of developing the plan, the project started with developing the Underrepresented Communities Historic Resources Survey.

Historic Preservation Plan

Read the full equity-based historic preservation plan, adopted in 2020.
Underrepresented Communities Historic Resources Survey
Historic context study and significant properties associated with:
- African Americans
- First Nations
- Hmong
- Latino/a/e
- LGBTQIA+
- Women
Historic District Standards and Illustrated Design Guidelines

Historic District standards of approval with illustrations and examples
Downtown Historic Preservation Plan (1998)

Completed in 1998 to inventory historic resources in downtown and plan for integrating them as the City redeveloped