City Meetings and Updates Week of March 3
posted- City Meetings:
- Finance Committee 3/3
- Plan Commission 3/3, proposal in D3 on the agenda
- Transportation Commission 3/5
- 2025 Brush Collection Schedule Now Available Online
- Nighttime Street Sweeping Begins 3/9
- What We Could Lose: Medicaid and Other Programs for People with Disabilities Event 3/5
- Events & Announcements
City Meetings
Note: This is not a complete list of meetings for this upcoming week. All meetings and their details can be found at the Meeting Schedule page.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, March 3, at 4:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include an update on federal executive orders and directives to pause federal grants and loans (link to staff presentation), as well as approving the submission of the required 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan, which includes the 2025 Annual Action Plan, to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Plan Commission
The Plan Commission meeting will take place on Monday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include amending the Report of the Lamp House Block Ad Hoc Plan Committee, creating Chapter 21 of the Madison General Ordinances related to Zoning Floodplain Regulations and Maps, and development-related requests, including one in District 3 for a coffee shop with a drive through at 3915 Lien Road near the Mayfair Park neighborhood. The drive-through needs a Conditional Use Permit in the Commercial Corridor-Transitional zoning district.
This proposed coffee shop doesn’t include indoor seating plans for customers but will have to comply with the City’s new rules requiring drive-through businesses to also accommodate pedestrians in the Transit Oriented Development overlay district. That way people don’t have to bring a car through the drive-through in order to get a coffee, which I think is important here because this proposed business is right by a BRT station and within easy walking distance of residential neighborhoods. Here’s a link to the project’s plans which reflect some design improvements since their earlier submission documents, and here’s the link to the staff report which details staff’s analysis of the project and recommendation of approval. Your comments are welcome and can be sent to me (district3@cityofmadison.com) or to the whole Plan Commission (pccomments@cityofmadison.com).
Transportation Commission
The Transportation Commission meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 5, at 5:00 p.m. in virtual format. Agenda items include updates to the Complete Green Streets policy guide and a presentation on the draft 2026-2031 Transportation Improvement Plan which maps sidewalk repairs, street reconstruction and resurfacing, bridge repairs, and other connectivity improvements throughout the City over the next six years. Here's the full map ; the colors indicate the year when each improvement is planned. Zoom in to see street-level details.
If you would like more information about becoming a member of a City board, commission, or committee, please visit the page linked here.
2025 Brush Collection Schedule Now Available Online
All residents in Madison have five curbside brush collection opportunities. Think of brush as branches and sticks. It’s the woody material you cut from trees, shrubs, and bushes. Brush must measure between 18 inches and 8 feet in length so crews can collect it safely.
The dates when you should set out brush to the curb for collection are now available on the Streets Division’s brush collection website. Once you are on this website, enter your address into the form. You will see all five of the dates when you should put brush out for pickup.
Nighttime Street Sweeping Begins March 9th
The City of Madison Streets Division notified alders this past week that their nighttime sweeping work is expected to begin during the evening of March 9, weather permitting. This is something Streets does every spring to clean up excess salt and grit on our streets in order to prevent that material from washing into our retention ponds, waterways, and lakes. The street sweepers use water so this process must wait until we see temperatures above freezing.
On the time of day, according to Streets, “Sweeping at night is considerably safer for our crews, and the public, too. The equipment is very slow when actively collecting debris – I believe the max speed is something like 5 MPH. We need to try to keep this equipment out of conflict of vehicle traffic the best we can so no one crashes into us, and since so few people are out and about during the overnight hours, it’s the safest time for our slow-moving sweepers to make the rounds.”
What We Could Lose: Medicaid and Other Programs for People with Disabilities Event
The City of Madison Department of Civil Rights is hosting a hybrid (virtual and in person) event: What We Could Lose: Medicaid and Other Programs For People with Disabilities on March 5, 2025, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. (CT).
This hybrid event is hosted in partnership with local organizations including Disability Pride Madison, UW Disability Cultural Center, and Access to Independence in response to calls from community members who want to learn more about potential cuts to these critical programs. It will serve as an opportunity for community members to gain valuable information, ask questions, and share about the importance of these services.
Speakers include:
- Eric Buehlmann, Director of Public Policy, National Disability Rights Network
- Tami Jackson, Public Policy Analyst and Legislative Liaison, Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities
- Jason Beloungy, Executive Director, Access to Independence
- U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin
- Rep. Lisa Subeck, Wisconsin Assembly, District 79
How to attend:
- Live event is at Madison Municipal Buildng, 215 Martin Luther King Blvd, Room 206
- Virtual event on zoom at https://cityofmadison.zoom.us/j/83614748193?pwd=Kaya3mqjdtNYaOuZIAJPmmdR8wjjqG.1. Meeting ID: 836 1474 8193, Passcode: 162248
Events & Announcements
- Metro March Service Updates: Metro will be implementing some minor adjustments to Routes A, B, F, G, and L. New service to Monona will also be available on Route 38. [posted February 28, 2025]
- City of Madison Celebrates Women in Construction Week 2025: The City of Madison Engineering Division, in partnership with the Parks Division, Traffic Engineering Division, Madison Water Utility and Information Technology, is proud to join the nationally-recognized Women in Construction Week, March 2-8, 2025. [posted February 28, 2025]
- Apply to be the 2025 Naturalist-in-Residence at Madison Public Library: Madison Public Library and Madison Parks are looking for a local naturalist to lead a series of workshops, guided walks, and programs in libraries and city green spaces for six weeks during the summer of 2025. [posted February 28, 2025]
- Common Council Approves Package of Housing, Demolition Ordinance Changes: The City of Madison’s Common Council voted Tuesday to approve a set of changes to the zoning code designed to support the creation of more types of housing. [posted February 24, 2025]
- Last Day to Establish Residency for the Spring Election, Tuesday, March 4: This is the last day for new residents to establish residency for the Spring Election. Voters who move within Wisconsin after this day may vote from their prior address.
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.
