The latest measures being introduced to the Common Council on October 28 focus on creating a new option for the city's neighborhoods and making more efficient use of Madison's most-traveled corridors.

The first proposal will make it easier to create Cottage Courts, a collection of up to eight detached homes gathered around a shared central courtyard. These homes would have a footprint no bigger than 1,000 square feet and could be condominiums, contained on their own small lots, or on a single lot with a single owner. Cottage Courts would be allowed in nearly all of Madison's residential zoning districts, except for some high-density residential zones.

The second proposal makes adjustments to the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zoning overlay district regarding some solely car-centric uses, like car washes or auto sales and rentals. Drive-throughs within the TOD would be allowed if they are incorporated into a building that is at least three stories tall and covers 60% of the lot. Additionally, this proposal would allow up to four units of housing on all residential lots within the TOD.

This package also includes rezoning a handful of properties within the TOD so they are more consistent with already-adopted future land use recommendations for mixed use, including the potential for housing, at those sites.