Madison Unveils Latest Efforts to Create More Housing

Madison is a welcoming community with a robust local economy, an excellent quality of life, and a bustling cultural scene. We have wonderful neighborhoods with all types of homes. Our goal with this latest set of proposals is to provide more flexibility in our ordinances to ensure our residents are able to have choices when selecting where to live. Everyone in Madison should have the opportunity to thrive. Our work on building more homes is ongoing and we will continue to streamline local zoning and improve City processes to make that possible.

Madison has always been a great place to live, and our city has long benefited from people coming here, falling in love with this community, and choosing to lay down roots. Whether you’re a student renting your first apartment, a young family hoping to buy your first home, or someone looking to downsize later in life, Madison should have opportunities available for you.

My district is in the southwest corner of the City. I'm supporting these latest proposals because it provides more flexibility to create additional housing. When I talk to my residents, I'm hearing about this issue more and more. So I'm happy to see these initiatives moving forward. 

Cottage Courts are very exciting to me. This type of missing middle housing creates pocket neighborhoods where community can thrive. 

As Madison continues to struggle in keeping up with the demand for housing, these new policy proposals will further address barriers - allowing more housing types and flexibility for home and property owners. These zoning adjustments can empower residents to age in place with more effective land use, stay connected to their neighbors, or even help attain down-sized/up-sized housing that meets their needs.

Mayor Rhodes-Conway and the Council’s latest round of policy proposals marks another critical step toward expanding quality, affordable homeownership opportunities in Madison. These initiatives reflect a deep commitment to equity, economic mobility, and neighborhood revitalization. The Urban League of Greater Madison is proud of our longstanding partnership with the City which has included award-winning single-family housing development projects that have helped over 70 families become first-time homeowners and build millions in equity, as well as ongoing support of our HUD-certified financial and homeownership education programs. Thanks to our partnership with the City of Madison and others, we are empowering communities and changing lives.

Through recent policies and proposals, the Mayor is encouraging us to re-imagine what is possible for families. For Latine families at Centro, homeownership is often perceived to be out of reach. Change is never easy, but it is certainly necessary if we are to live our values in Madison of a more inclusive city for all.

United Way of Dane County supports housing proposals and ordinance changes that will result in more affordable housing options in our community.

We strongly support the City’s height transition and ADU reforms. We also cautiously support the lot minimum reduction proposal, despite our concern that its very limited scope risks it being more symbolic than substantive. Amending this package to further reduce lot minimums would triple the impact. A fast-following proposal to apply this effort to yet-unmentioned zones would quintuple the results. Together, these amendments and future additions can turn symbolic progress into real results.

We recognize Mayor Rhodes-Conway’s proposed zoning changes as incremental steps toward increasing missing middle housing and expanding housing choice in Madison,” said Jim Flaherty of AARP Wisconsin. “We’re especially enthusiastic about efforts to adopt ordinances that allow duplex accessory dwelling units and simplify ADU lot requirements.

We support the City of Madison's most recent proposed steps towards a more flexible housing environment and look forward to future proposals that contribute to increasing housing options in existing, highly desirable neighborhoods.

Madison is taking meaningful steps to address our community’s housing challenges by removing unnecessary barriers to new homes. Creating more housing options will help ensure that families, workers, young professionals, students, and seniors can continue to live and thrive here. We support these efforts to expand housing choices and strengthen our neighborhoods.

People across Madison are excited for these changes because they know what it means for working class families: more homes, more chances to own a home, and a city that works for everyone, not just the rich and powerful. These changes will help make sure the people who keep our city going can afford to live here and we applaud Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, her staff, and the Common Council for their diligent work to get this done.