City Meetings and Updates Week of Oct 19

• City Meetings:
  • Plan Commission 10/19
  • Common Council 10/20
  • Housing Policy Committee Meeting on Homelessness 10/22
• Property Crime Trend Notice: Unlocked Cars
• Public Health: Flu Season Off to Early Start in Dane County
• MPD Hosting Free Active Shooter Response Training
• Events & Announcements

City Meetings

Plan Commission

The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, October 19, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include two items in District 3:

• Item 5: An amendment to a Planned Development at 6302 Driscoll Drive in District 3. This amendment would allow the owner to change from their previous approved plan of building a four-unit dwelling to building two duplexes instead. Here are the project plans and here's a staff memo providing background information and noting their recommendation of approval. 

• 

  Image credit: City Zoning

  Item 14: A resolution changing Madison General Ordinances to rezone one- and two-family residential properties in District 3 that currently have Planned Development zoning into one of Madison's standard residential zoning districts. I wrote in more detail about this proposal, and similar proposals in the rest of the City, in this recent blog post. If you have zoning questions that aren't answered by that blog post, please consider reaching out to City zoning staff at zoning@cityofmadison.com or call 608-266-4551, extension 3.

Meeting info: 

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Common Council

The Common Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m. in hybrid format. Agenda items include:

• Item 1: An honoring resolution declaring November 20th to be Transgender Day of Remembrance in Madison.
• Item 2: An honoring resolution recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Madison.
• Item 6: A resolution changing Madison General Ordinances to rezone one- and two-family residential properties in District 3 that currently have Planned Development zoning into one of Madison's standard residential zoning districts. I wrote in more detail about this proposal, and similar proposals in the rest of the City, in this recent blog post. If you have zoning questions that aren't answered by that blog post, please consider reaching out to City zoning staff at zoning@cityofmadison.com or call 608-266-4551, extension 3.
• Item 24: An amendment to a Planned Development at 6302 Driscoll Drive in District 3. This amendment would allow the owner to change from their previous approved plan of building a four-unit dwelling to building two duplexes instead. Here are the project plans and here's a staff memo providing background information and noting their recommendation of approval.
• Item 51: A resolution amending the 2026 MPD budget to authorize an application for a U.S. Dept of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant for $200k to pilot a drone-as-first-responder program and evaluate its effectiveness as a fist responder tool and its utility for the Department (I'm a cosponsor). The idea here is that a drone might arrive to a scene first and let officers know what is happening, in order to respond with the appropriate level of urgency, force, and number of responding officers.
• Item 79: A resolution terminating the appointment of the Interim Independent Monitor (I'm a cosponsor). I wrote about this item in last weekend's Weekly Updates blog post, linked here. The resolution proposes to give the Council Chief of Staff, Dr. Karen Kapusta Pofahl, responsibility for supervising the office until a permanent Monitor is hired. Finally, the resolution begins a process of working with the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) to support civilian oversight in Madison. 

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online 

Housing Policy Committee Meeting on Homelessness

The Housing Policy Committee meeting will take place on Thursday, October 22, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include two items specific to homelessness:

• Item 2: A presentation by Madison Metro School District staff about the importance of housing stability and neighborhood services for students
• Item 3: A presentation by City Community Development staff on the City's efforts to support housing stability

Neither presentation are attached to their respective legistar items yet as of the weekend.

Meeting info:

• Meeting Details
• Meeting Agenda
• Register for Public Comment
• Watch Online

Property Crime Trend Notice: Unlocked Cars

East District MPD Captain Ed Marshall notified East District alders this past week: 

“We have seen a trend of late involving suspects accessing unlocked vehicles parked on curbs and driveways, then using the garage door opener to access the associated house. Thieves have stolen the keys for the vehicles, as well as other valuables, using this method." 

This includes a few cases on the East Side, though the Captain noted the issue is currently more prevalent on the Southwest Side of the City. The Captain noted that, as the weather (hopefully) cools off, this trend could coincide with the increased thefts from vehicles that are left running to warm up or defrost. 

Public Health: Flu Season Off to Early Start in Dane County

News from Madison Dane County Public Health: 

“Flu activity is increasing earlier than expected in Dane County, and Public Health is encouraging everyone ages 6 months and older to get their annual flu shot sooner than later. The latest update of the Respiratory Illness Dashboard shows flu cases in area emergency departments are increasing earlier in the season across most age groups. Flu has also been detected in wastewater and school air samples earlier than in recent years.

"While overall rates are still low, we don't usually see these kinds of increases in activity for at least another month. We know it can be easy to put off vaccination, but you don't want to wait until flu is widespread in the community. Getting vaccinated now gives your body time to build protection before you're exposed," said Janel Heinrich, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County. 

Public Health works closely with the Lungfish program. The UW-Madison researchers who lead the grant-funded school air monitoring program are reporting flu in school air samples before October this year. In September, they found flu in air samples in 3 of 27 schools, compared to 0 in the same schools last year at this time.

Public Health offers free flu and COVID vaccines to eligible children and uninsured adults in Dane County. Appointments are available now both in regular clinic locations and at upcoming school vaccination clinics at the Holtzman Center (333 Holtzman Rd., Madison, WI). 

Families who have insurance that covers vaccinations should reach out to their healthcare provider or a local pharmacy to schedule an appointment.

Getting the flu and COVID vaccines at the same appointment ensures you're fully protected, heading into another respiratory virus season."

MPD Hosting Free Active Shooter Response Training

The Madison Police Department is offering a training designed to save lives in an active shooter situation. The training is called Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events and will be held on November 9th. 

Last October, Common Council members were invited to participate in a version of this training in the chamber of the City County building, and I joined in. The trainer, Lieutenant Jimmy Imoehl, discussed and demonstrated recommended response strategies which are based on evidence from other active shooter incidents. Those strategies are recommended because, based on evidence from other active shooter incidents, they increase the chance that more people will survive. Our training was specific to surviving an incident in the Council chamber at the City County building. It was a chilling experience but the information was very powerful. 

On the event:

“Officers will go over recent active shooter cases and highlight the strategies survivors used during those events that kept them alive. 

"The instructor connected the material to real-life situations, welcomed questions, and clearly explained the importance of each scenario. He made a difficult topic comfortable to navigate," a recent attendee shared with our CRASE training team.

On average, it takes police three minutes to respond to an active shooter event. About two-thirds of these incidents are over by the time police arrive to the scene.

"This training is designed to give people a plan and the skills needed for an increased chance of survival. We talk about statistics. We talk about human stress. We go through case studies," said MPD Lt. Jimmy Imoehl.

The course principles can be applied at businesses, schools, places of worship, clinics or anywhere people gather."

• When: Nov. 9, from 1:00 - 3:30 p.m.
• Where: MPD Training Center - 5702 Femrite Dr. in Madison
• Registration is required and can be done online by visiting the Madison Police Department's website. Attendees are asked to register by Nov. 1.

Events & Announcements

• South Stoughton Road Service Road Closure at Pflaum Road Begins October 21: Beginning Wednesday, October 21, the southbound South Stoughton Road Service Road will be closed at its intersection with Pflaum Road for approximately two weeks to allow for concrete paving and the necessary curing time before reopening to traffic… [posted October 16, 2026]
• MPD to offer free active shooter response training: MADISON, Wis. – The Madison Police Department is offering a training designed to save lives in an active shooter situation. The next session of the Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) will be held on Nov. 9.  The training is free… [posted October 15, 2026]
• White Cane Day 2026: October 15 is White Cane Safety Day, a nationally recognized day that supports and highlights the rights of those with visual impairments. Approximately one million Americans have blindness while another six million Americans suffer from vision loss… [posted October 15, 2026]
• Designing Safer Streets: 2026 Vision Zero and Speed Management Projects: Vision Zero Madison has been a safety initiative in Madison since 2020 and has implemented hundreds of safety improvements projects in those 6 years since the start. These projects focus on Proven Safety Countermeasures like high visibility… [posted October 12, 2026]
• School Vaccination Clinic: Holzman Center (Madison), Saturday, October 17: All vaccines are free for eligible individuals. Children six months and older who lack insurance, are under 19, and are either Alaskan Native or American Indian, as well as those with BadgerCare or most other types of insurance, can receive vaccinations at no cost.
• Fall Home Maintenance, Thursday, October 22: Is your home ready for winter's chill? Don't wait until the first snowstorm to discover a leaky roof or a frozen pipe! This Fall Home Maintenance class will empower you to proactively prepare your home for the harsh winter months, saving you money and headaches down the road.
• Bird & Nature Adventures | Edna Taylor, Saturday, October 24: Fall Comings and Goings ~ Join Naturalist Doug Davis for a free family friendly Guided Walk or take a walk on your own any day in October to explore the outdoors at Aldo Leopold Nature Center and Edna Taylor Conservation Park!
• Halloween Scramble - Saturday Round, Saturday, October 24: The single greatest (or at least scariest) golf tournament in the world returns for its 11th year! Register your foursome...if you dare! Registration deadline is October 21, 2026, at 6:00PM CDT.
• Teejop Art: First Nations Cultural Landscape Tours of the Teejop Community Art Project, Saturday, October 24: Join UW–Madison's First Nations Cultural Landscape Tour guides for conversation and kid-friendly activities exploring the 14,000+ year history of Ho-Chunk people in Teejop (Four Lakes), as part of the Teejop Community Art Project. Olbrich & Hudson Parks - Sat, Oct 24 (10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) · rain date Sun, Oct 25 (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.).

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted. Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.