Assessments, Medians, Gallery Night - D15 Update 5/1/22

2022 Property Assessments 

The city assessor has published the valuation of all assessable property in Madison and updated assessments were in the mail as of Friday. You can read more about the assessment process here and find the new assessed values here. The Wisconsin State Journal ran an extensive article explaining the assessments and Council President, Keith Furman, provided a comprehensive blog post on this topic. There is often confusion about the difference between an increase in assessed values and an increase in property tax and Alder Furman's post helps explain the difference. Anyone feeling that there is an error in their assessment can find information about the appeals process here. 

Medians

The Wisconsin State Journal ran an article about paving over medians that has generated a lot of feedback. It's encouraging to hear how strongly many residents support greening our city and it reinforces a value that I've been working to uphold. As you can imagine, the situation is a little more complicated than simply choosing between greenscape and concrete and our Engineering division has put together an FAQ document that explains some of that detail here.

While none of the medians proposed for conversion are eligible for adoption by community members, it is a good opportunity to share information about our adopt-a-median program and to highlight one median in District 15 that is available for adoption - I'm guessing there are some folks interested in adopting this median on Elmside Boulevard... You can find more information on the program here.

Transit-Oriented Development Zoning

Implementation of Transit-Oriented Development Zoning has been underway over the last year and a draft plan is now being released for public input. This initiative is meant to promote higher-density development in areas of the city that are in close proximity to high-frequency transit routes and is a technique used by many cities to encourage more sustainable growth patterns. You can find background information on this initiative as well as links to upcoming public meetings at the project website here.

Zion Redevelopment Proposal & SASY Plan Amendment

The Plan Commission took up the Zion church redevelopment proposal and SASY plan amendment at their meeting on Monday and voted unanimously to recommend approval of both. You can watch a recording of the deliberation at Plan Commission here. These items will be in front of the Common Council on May 10 for final action.

Gallery Night

Gallery night returns this Friday with a number of venues in District 15, including ArtWorking on S. Stoughton Road, Midwest Clay Project & Studios on N. Bryan Street, and a number of locations in the SASY neighborhood. You can find a full list of participating locations and an interactive map here.

Eastmorland Outdoor Market

The first Eastmorland Outdoor Market of the season will take place at the Lansing Food Forest on Saturday. You can find the details here.

Historic Dean House Tour

On Sunday, stop in at the Historic Dean House for their monthly open house and tour. Details here.

In the News

• Alder Lindsay Lemmer Announces Resignation from Madison Common Council Effective May 11, 2022 

• Applications Being Accepted to Fill Third Aldermanic District Vacancy

• The 2022 Spring Yard Waste Collection Is Complete

• Public Health, Local Health Systems Encourage Boosters & Second Boosters 

• Low-Carbon Concrete Success: City Engineering Hosts Event, Allows Future Process

• Madison Commons, Media Digest

• City of Madison Complete Meeting Schedule

• City of Madison Calendar of Events

District 15 Public Works Projects

(You can find a list of all engineering projects in District 15 here.)

• Starkweather Drive/Garver Path - 2/24/2022 Update: There are a few areas along the new path that are not draining well, and are being barricaded off.  The Contractor is scheduled to repair the pavement as soon as possible in the Spring.  We apologize for the inconvenience. 

• St. Paul Avenue, Ohio Avenue, Talmadge Street, Jackson Street, Lafollette Avenue Reconstruction - 4/13/2022 Update: The Contractor, RG Huston Co, is planning to begin with Sanitary Sewer work on St Paul Ave starting on Monday, April 18, 2022. Expect equipment mobilization prior to this date.

• Eastmorland Sidewalk Installation - Scheduled for construction in 2022

• Starkweather Creek Watershed Flood Study - First public meeting held

• Atwood Avenue/Olbrich Path - Board of Park Commissioners approved Option 3 for Olbrich path alignment

• Davies St., Dempsey Rd., Maher Ave. - Design work is continuing following feedback received at the January public meeting. Construction planned for 2023

• Worthington Avenue, Powers Avenue, Thurber Avenue Sanitary Replacement

District 15 Development Projects (dates are tentative and subject to change)

• Zion Church Redevelopment Proposal (2165 Linden Avenue)

  • Updated plan amendment

  • 4/13 - Urban Design Commission - UDC recommended initial approval of the project

  • 4/25 - Plan Commission - PC recommended approval of the project and plan amendment

  • 5/10 - Common Council

• 3900 Monona Drive

  • 4/7 - Public Information Meeting

  • 4/11 - Submission of application

  • 6/13 - Plan Commission

  • 6/21 - Council meeting

Save the Date

• May 11 - Conservation Park Tour | Edna Taylor

• May 19 - Final Network Redesign Public Meeting

• May 24 - SASY Neighborhood Association will be holding their annual business meeting at Garver Feed Mill.

• May 31 - Network Redesign Public Hearing

• June 5-11 - Madison Bike Week

• June 18-19 - Lake Edge/Eastmorland/Glendale joint neighborhood garage sale

• June 21 - Make Music Madison

• July 7 - Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society 2022 Back Porch Concerts

• July 14 - Eastmorland Outdoor Market

• July 17 - Eastmorland Garden/Chicken Coop Tour

• August 4 - Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society Annual Ice Cream Social

• Sept 15 - Eastmorland Outdoor Market

• Nov 12 - Eastmorland Outdoor Market

Subscribe to the District 15 blog via the sidebar above to receive email notification when new updates are published. If you have any questions or thoughts you can reach me at district15@cityofmadison.com.