Mayor Rhodes-Conway introduces ordinance changes to encourage housing growth

This zoning package is the latest in a number of zoning changes over the last several years designed to support more infill development to meet the demand the city is seeing for new housing as a result of population growth. Some of the previous proposals allowed for more housing to be constructed than previously allowed. This package, in contrast, focuses on increasing flexibility in how individual property owners can situate housing on their lots, and streamlining the review process for demolition permits.

The Mayor's Office worked closely with several alders and considered previous work of the Plan Commission to propose this package of changes to the Madison General Ordinances. The amendments include measures to:

• Allow more options for the placement of an attached garage in residential districts
• Allow open porches in part of a lot's required side yard setback (the distance between the side of a building and the lot line), similar to what is allowed for front porches
• Make the side yard setback the same for one- and two-story homes
• Increase the allowable interior size for an ADU to be up to 1,000 square feet and eliminate the limit on the number of bedrooms
• Allow more flexibility for how units are arranged within two- and three-unit buildings
• Remove the Usable Open Space requirement while still maintaining existing stormwater management and landscaping requirements
• Maintain the Landmarks Commission's review of all demolition requests for historic value, but allow demolitions of properties the Landmarks Commission determines to be non-historic to be approved administratively without an additional review by the Plan Commission

Many of these proposals came from observations from City staff, who noted how their day-to-day work with customers could be improved to better facilitate small residential developments that are already generally allowed.

The package of ordinance changes will be introduced at the January 14, 2025, Common Council meeting before being referred to City Boards, Commissions and Committees for their review, where public comment will also be accepted.

Additional details about the proposed Zoning Code amendments can be found in the Staff Report outlining the changes.