Southwest Area Plan Kick-off November 19

Southwest Area Plan Kick-off

An important component of developing Madison's area plans is collecting resident input. That process begins on November 19 with an in-person gathering in the evening at Toki Middle School followed by afternoon and evening virtual meetings on December 3. Details on attending these sessions are at the end of this blog. First - some background.

What Part of District 19 Is Covered by the Southwest Area Plan?

Ward 95 of District 19 is included in the Southwest Area Plan. This part of District 19 is bounded on the north by the Beltline, on the south by Schroeder Road, on the west by Gammon Road, and on the east by Whitney Way. The rest of the Southwest Area Plan includes part of three other alder districts. The rest of District 19 was covered by the West Area Plan which was approved by the Common Council this year.

What are Area Plans and the Comprehensive Plan?

Madison last updated its "Comprehensive Plan", which covers the entire City, in 2018. Plans provide a general road map for guiding future development over multiple decades. They cover a wide range of topics, including land use, zoning, streets, sidewalks, bike paths, transportation, sewers, stormwater, parks, libraries, housing (especially areas targeted for City assistance), commercial development, industrial development, urban agriculture, sustainability, and other matters. The concepts are guides. The Common Council approves a final version, but none of the plan details become reality until some version is ultimately approved by the Common Council in the form of an ordinance.

Municipal comprehensive plans have an important status under Wisconsin statutes. Various Madison ordinances require that actions be reviewed for consistency with the comprehensive plan.

Prior to 2023, Madison updated the comprehensive plan with individual neighborhood plans, a prolonged process. Beginning in 2023, Madison defined twelve "Areas" with the goal of developing "Area Plans", two at a time, completing the process by 2030 or 2031. The first two area plans were the West and Northeast Area Plans, which were approved by the Common Council this year. The next two are the Southwest and Southeast Area Plans.

When an area plan is approved by the Common Council, it becomes an update to that area in the Comprehensive Plan.

What is the Process for Creating and Approving an Area Plan?

The Area Plan process is managed by the Planning Division within Madison's Planning, Community Development, and Economic Development Department. Many other departments play a role, but Planning coordinates the process.

At the beginning of the process, Planning accumulates details from the latest version of the Comprehensive Plan and any of the relevant old neighborhood plans, adds data on subsequent events, and may suggest some possible changes. For example, Planning may suggest changes in land use and the need for additional parks.

Next is an extended period of resident input. Planning is looking for reactions to changes it is suggesting and gathering additional ideas from participating residents. Multiple departments assist Planning in covering the information and gathering suggestions. Out of these dialogues, Planning generates a first draft of the area plan.

The outreach for resident input begins again as Planning seeks input on the first draft. The cycle may repeat, as further resident input results in second or even third or fourth drafts. Eventually, consensus is reached that the latest draft is ready for consideration by the affected boards, commissions and committees such as Transportation, Public Works, Libraries, Parks, and others. Each of which may suggest changes. These are all public meetings, and any citizen may provide comments or speak at the meetings.

Ultimately, the Plan Commission takes up the draft, adopts some of the suggestions from other committees, and may make its own amendments, before sending it on to the Common Council for consideration. Again, citizens may provide comments or speak at this meeting. Finally, it is taken up by the Common Council where further public testimony may occur.

Some important lessons were learned from the West Area and Northeast Area Plans. Some formats for resident meetings were more productive than others. Some education and communication need to precede the gathering of input. For instance, we found that the difference between land use and zoning was not well understood. Similarly, the legal status of plans was not well understood with some residents assuming that anything put in the plan would be immediately implemented, whereas they are actually a suggestion, albeit an important one, that ultimately will not be implemented without further resident input and planning.

We have also learned that residents able to participate in in-person and virtual sessions are not necessarily representative of the entire area population. Planning has a small budget to assist community partners and engagement specialists reach out to these often silent populations.

How to Participate in the Kick-off

First is an in-person open house on Tuesday, November 19, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Toki Middle School, 5606 Russet Road, Madison. Just come.

The virtual sessions are noon to 1 pm and 6 to 7 pm on December 3. Use this Planning Division webpage link to register for either of the virtual sessions. That page also contains links to background information