City officials discussed the final draft of the plan for downtown Madison with the public Monday at a Bassett Neighborhood meeting.
Key aspects of the plan include developing transportation options, increasing the city’s sustainability, enhancing the lakefronts through such initiatives as a continuous Lake Mendota bike path and the extension of the East Campus Mall to Monona Bay.
After being formally introduced to the City Council in November, the Downtown Plan was referred to 14 city committees, one of which has already made its recommendation.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, explained the timeline of the city process, saying the plan should be “ripe for Plan Commission and City Council action” by the spring.
The plan regulates building height with the aim of keeping a quality atmosphere. Height limits will become stricter in a new zoning code set for adoption next year.
“The new zoning code … will more flexible and updated to today’s standards,” Verveer said.
Jonathan Cooper, executive council member of the Bassett District, contributed information from a meeting he took part in with Mayor Paul Soglin early last week. According to Cooper, there was nothing in the plan Soglin was “strongly for or against.” What Soglin did point out, however, was a lack of funding.
“It was interesting that one of [Soglin’s] first comments is that money is tight, and we should not necessarily expect a whole lot of the Downtown Plan to come to fruition real quickly based on budgetary constraints,” Cooper said.
Verveer echoed this statement.
“Some of the most exciting things on the plan are public projects that likely won’t see funding in the immediate future,” he said.
Despite this challenge, the Downtown Plan is a strong one. “This along with the rewrite of the zoning ordinance will sort of guide downtown’s development over [a] 20-year window,” Cooper said.
