Citizens Against Subsidized Hotels, a city advocacy group opposing Madison city alders’ development plans, is gaining support from other organizations to pass an ordinance that requires citizen approval of large-scale subsidized city projects.
Andy Olsen, a CASH representative, said the ordinance would require the city to allow voter approval for private development projects receiving financial assistance exceeding $10 million in land contributions and taxpayers’ money.
CASH recently gained support from Progressive Dane and the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin. Madison hotels have also provided local support for the referendum to protect their businesses, according to Olsen.
“It just makes no sense that the city would choose to subsidize a major hotel at a time when the private sector is stepping up and building hotels and is planning to build more hotels,” Olsen said. “It creates the danger of an oversupply of hotel rooms that could put out a business [like] one of our existing hotels.”
The proposal requires a minimum of 16,000 signatures on the “Hotel Boondoggle” petition, on nocashsubsidy.org, in order to include the question asking citizens’ approval of large-scale public projects on the November ballot. Petition signing will begin May 1.
“This approach that we’re using has been used previously in city history,” Olsen said.
Madison citizens were able to pass a referendum in the ’90s demanding citizen approval for construction on city parks after the city attempted to build a pool in Olin Park, according to Olsen.
“It’s been really heartwarming to see the overwhelming support for the referendum from the public,” Olsen said.
