The post below was recently written and sent out by the president of
my neighborhood association, Dan Melton. It is a very thoughtful
piece about the importance of the upcoming zoning code re-write. It
is followed by the city's announcement of the public meetings about
the zoning code re-write.
I happen to agree with his perspective.
Unfortunately, the mayor has abandoned this perspective and gone over
to the pavers' side (
http://www.madison.com/tct/archives/index.php?archAction=arch_read&a_from=search&a_file=%2Ftct%2F2008%2F05%2F28%2F0805280276.php&var_search=Search&keyword_field=&pub_code_field=tct&from_date_field=20080528&to_date_field=20080528&var_start_pos=10&var_articles_per_page=10
and http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=288701), so
I'm wondering why he is even bothering with this exercise.
And given the council's rubber stamping of every paving project that
comes before it (the latest was low-density, highway-expanding,
anti-bike Pumpkin Hollow Neighborhood Plan; and there was not one
dissenter, btw), I'm wondering about strategies to turn this into
something more than a propaganda exercise for a mayor desperately
seeking to maintain his green cred.
Suggestions? Will there be any bikies there to speak out on behalf of
bikeable, walkable places?
-Mike
******************************************************
From Dan Melton:
The City is embarking on an ambitious rewrite of our entire Zoning Code.
The big Zoning Code Rewrite could have a huge impact on how our
walkable, bikeable neighborhood - and the city as a whole - looks and
feels in future.
The phrase "Zoning Code" (yawn) sounds hopelessly boring and
wonkish but it's the Zoning Code that shapes everything around you,
everything you may find attractive about our neighborhood, everything
you may find noxious when you venture outside our neighborhood.
It's the Zoning Code that shapes how developers and builders will or
will not make money in the future.
Here is one perspective on city zoning, taken from the Summer 2008
issue of On Earth, published by the Natural Resources Defense
Council, P 13, 'The De-Malling Of America':
"....(In) the past 50 years,...suburban expansion...has eaten land
eight times faster than the nation's population has grown.
Conventional suburban development, with single-family homes and large
yards, is not sustainable.
Nor is the drive-everywhere lifestyle that goes with it.
Since 1980 the number of miles driven by Americans has increased
about seven times faster than the population.
Even if more fuel-efficient vehicles become mandatory, emissions and
gasoline consumption will continue to climb. Those trends won't be
reversed until most of us start living and working in communities
where we can walk more and drive less.
Most zoning laws, however, discourage smart growth, says Christopher
Leinberger, an urban policy specialist at the Brookings Institution
in Washington D.C.
The country's zoning laws were developed early in the twentieth
century to separate polluting industries and noisy, crowded markets
from the places where people lived.
While the landscape of postindustrial America has changed, for the
most part, the antiquated zoning laws have not.
"Unfortunately our zoning laws our a reflection of the previous
reality," Leinberger says.
"It's illegal in most places to develop mixed-use, high-density
projects. You have to change zoning, and that takes a lot of time
and money."
"We can't subsidize suburban growth forever," he says. "Gas prices
will make it uneconomical. But most importantly the market has
changed."
"The Gen Xers and the 20-somethings have a different concept of how
they want to live. They're willing to trade off large-lot
single-family homes and expensive commutes for walkable urban living."
"These walkable places are now the most expensive places on a
price-per-square-foot basis. That's a reflection of pent-up demand."
[Below, from city staff]
From: Roll, Rick
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 10:48 AM
Subject: Agendas for Upcoming Special Plan Commission and Zoning Code
Rewrite Advisory Committee meetings
Hi,
The City's Zoning Code rewrite consultants will be in town next week,
Monday June 9th and Tuesday 10th, and will meet with the Plan
Commission and the Zoning Code Rewrite Advisory Committee. The
agendas for each meeting are provided below. These agendas will also
be posted on the City's Legistar System which can be reached at
<http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/calendar/#current>http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/calendar/#current.
Consultant reports and memorandums that will be presented at the
meetings will be available shortly and will be posted prior to the
meetings on the project website at
<http://www.cityofmadison.com/zoningrewrite>www.cityofmadison.com/zoningrewrite.
Staff will bring paper copies of the reports and memorandums to the
meetings. The Common Council as well as all other interested
individuals are invited to attend these meetings.
City of Madison
Agenda-Approved
Zoning Code Rewrite Advisory Committee
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
6:00 p.m.
Madison Senior Center
330 West Mifflin Street
Rooms 1 & 2 (2nd floor)
**Note** Quorum of the Common Council, Plan Commission, Urban Design
Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals may be in attendance at this
meeting
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
2. MINUTES OF THE APRIL 14th, 2008 MEETING
April 14, 2008: http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/calendar/#current
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
This is an opportunity for the public to introduce and comment on
issues for future agendas; time of commentary is limited to 3 minutes
per person.
4. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
-Election of Committee Chair and Vice-Chair
-Committee Charge: Distribution of Legislative File Number 08645
(version 2) (Resolution 08-00174) creating the Zoning Code Rewrite
Advisory Committee
-Next Steps: Discussion of next steps including outline,
Code drafting, Advisory Committee meeting schedule (9-11-08,
10-21-08, 11-10-08)
5. XXXX Review of Meetings and Other Feedback Received
A summary of community meeting comments and written comments will be
presented, followed by review and discussion of results.
6. 09806 Summary of Issue Identification
Presentation and discussion of Issue Identification memorandum
prepared by the Zoning Code Rewrite consultants.
7. XXXX Summary of Initial Findings of Zoning
Code Analysis
Presentation and discussion on initial findings of zoning code analysis.
8. ADJOURNMENT
City of Madison
Agenda-Approved
PLAN COMMISSION
Monday, June 9th, 2008
5:00 p.m.
Madison Municipal Building
215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard
Room LL110
**Note** Quorum of the Common Council, Zoning Code Rewrite Advisory
Committee, Urban Design Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals
may be in attendance at this meeting
1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
This is an opportunity for the public to introduce and comment on
issues for future agendas; time of commentary is limited to 3 minutes
per person.
3. XXXX Review of Meetings and Other Feedback Received
A summary of community meeting comments and written comments will be
presented, followed by review and discussion of results
4. 09806 Summary of Issue Identification
Presentation and discussion of Issue Identification memorandum
prepared by the Zoning Code Rewrite consultants.
5. XXXX Summary of Initial Findings of Zoning
Code Analysis
Presentation and discussion on initial findings of zoning code analysis.
6. ADJOURNMENT
I will be out of the office from the afternoon of Tuesday June 3rd -
Thursday June 5th. In my absence, if you have any questions or need
assistance, please contact Michael Waidelich at
<http://[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED], or
by phone at 266-4635.
Thanks,
Rick Roll, AICP
Senior Planner
Department of Planning and Community
and Economic Development
Planning Division
215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
P.O. Box 2985
Madison, WI 53701-2985
608-267-8732 PH
608-267-8739 FAX
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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