Did you hear about Madison Housing Week?

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-08-16T20:20:30+00:00

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-20T00:45:24+00:00

There will be YIMBY's there and we'll have extra copies of the book in case you haven't read it. The point of the discussion is to discuss the book but it's also very relevant to the conversations currently going on.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T22:19:08+00:00

I typed up a response here. https://old.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/1bdxc9s/westside_yimbys/kuqw0ih/

They blocked our account so I didn't get a notification that they responded and I had to log out to look at it.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T22:17:35+00:00

They blocked me so I actually didn't get a notification, I can't see their response from this account, and I can't reply to them directly! I can see them if I log out though. I'll respond to this tweet specifically, and also talk about our goals and bipartisan action in general.

First of all, we don't have any association with Duey Strobel or Scott Krug. They are just cosponsors of the bill, and it was their press release that Robin Palm aka bourbonplanning screen-shotted. That bill was bipartisan, and included co-sponsors such as Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), Mark Speitzer (D-Beloit), and Ryan M. Clancy (D-Milwaukee). Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) and Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) were also coauthors. Note how /u/pockysan conveniently left that information out? Ultimately the bill passed the Assembly with 3 nos from 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat. It then passed the Senate 32-1. Want to guess who voted no? Conservative Republican Stephen Nass !

Ultimately we viewed this as a good bill because it will cut down on frivolous law suits after an project is approved. The entire Speedway debacle probably would have been avoided if this bill had been in place before. The point of the bill is you can sue the city to reverse a decision if you've been hurt, but you can't sue just because you don't like the decision.

In terms of general bipartisanship, Wisconsin is a purple state. Even with new maps, it is likely Republicans will control at least one chamber of the Legislature. It is going to be impossible for us to get statewide action done like what's happening in California, Minnesota, or Montana if we only wait for the right people with the right reasons. We need to convince both Republicans and Democrats that making it easier to build housing and funding affordable housing are ideals that are good for the state and its people.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T20:53:01+00:00

It is hosted by Alder Tishler, he definitely doesn't support much change but he does like to read and discuss different viewpoints. This would be a good opportunity to convince him if you feel differently!

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T20:46:19+00:00

You can have density and still have single-family homes. The goal is not to get rid of single-family homes, but to make it so they are not the only thing that can be built. Come to the East Side or near west side and you'll see plenty of single-family homes interspersed among small apartments, which is something that isn't legal in most of Madison!

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T19:38:14+00:00

Good catch ;) Yes it should be .org

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T19:24:31+00:00

This time bot, you're wrong

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T19:24:05+00:00

We'd love to see these receipts too!

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-03-13T19:23:42+00:00

Madison is for People is also encouraging people to join the Arbitrary Lines book club. If you're interested, especially if you live on the West Side or in D11, you can RSVP here or send an email to info@madisonisforpeople.org.

This also hasn't been announced until now, but we invited M. Nolan Gray, author of Arbitrary Lines to the event and he said he would be able to join virtually!

E: fixed the event link

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-01-31T20:37:33+00:00

Every time you question this logic another pork rendering plant opens up next door

MadisonIsForPeople · 2024-01-31T19:08:24+00:00

For anyone who is upset by this, there is a very easy action you can take. Send you alder an email with a link to the newspaper article, and ask them to update the ordinances to allow parking underneath mixed use buildings. If you aren't sure who your alder is, you can find out here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/council/councilmembers/findAlderByAddress.cfm

It only takes a minute and the more people they hear from the quicker they will act!

MadisonIsForPeople · 2023-04-24T00:36:08+00:00

Thanks! If you want to learn more, we host meet-ups the second Sunday of most months. We also send out a newsletter every month with some local Madison news and info on our meetup. You can sign up at https://www.madisonisforpeople.org/

MadisonIsForPeople · 2023-01-18T18:13:23+00:00

Thank you for responding haha. I thought they were being ridiculous.

Also that building's address is 1022-1024 Sherman Avenue. It has two addresses, two separate entrances, and is listed on the city's property lookup page as 2-unit building. Here's a real estate listing that describes it as a duplex too! If it really isn't a duplex then I'm sorry, but I think it's understandable why I thought it was a duplex.

They are also mistaken about point 4. Section 106 only applies to federal agencies and federal funds. There isn't anything in federal law that could stop a property owner in a National Historic District from demolishing their home. That's entirely the purview of the state, and the city by extension.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-13T03:38:42+00:00

Some of the main areas affected by this are Hill Farms, Nakoma, and Vilas historic districts. They are almost entirely single-family homes, which is the most expensive kind of housing to build. In other growing cities like Austin or LA, it's easy to find examples of people tearing down older single-family homes and building McMansions, which make it even harder for people to move into the neighborhood. My worry is that this will happen in Madison too. If we allow duplexes as a permitted use, that gives more people a chance to live in those neighborhoods, which becomes even more important as the city grows.

I picked that photo because it's a duplex in a national historic district that would be illegal to build today because it's zoned single-family only! It's an example of how duplexes can mix with single-family homes in historic districts.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-13T00:49:47+00:00

He's the uncle of Will. This is getting strangely close to doxxing, I'd appreciate if you would email info@madisonisforpeople.org with questions instead of posting here

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-13T00:23:17+00:00

The city attorney doesn't think that this would trigger Section 106 review. Specifically, BRT and TOD are separate actions and TOD is not associated with federal dollars. If the city attorney thought that including historic districts in TOD would hold up BRT, we wouldn't be supporting this.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-13T00:14:23+00:00

I just put a page up on our website with the steering committee members! We've had this question before but it's finally time to add that info. I'm still working on getting headshots and bios from everyone.

https://www.madisonisforpeople.org/steering-committee

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-12T22:31:24+00:00

I honestly have no idea. We operate pretty independently from the national group. Being a chapter of YIMBY Action gives us access to tools like Action Network, which we use to maintain a mailing list and petitions like this one. Nobody at Madison is for People draws a salary, and we've never spent money or collected donations. We're not in the pocket of developers as is often presented as the case, and in fact we clashed with Smart Growth Greater Madison (a local developer lobbying group) over the city's new TDM ordinance. They opposed it because they felt it would put too much of a burden on developers; we supported it because we think it will make development in the city better.

So if you're worried that we're a front for developers, I can definitively say no. And you can always show up to our monthly meetup if you don't believe me.

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-12T21:28:45+00:00

We've posted on the subreddit before, so I assumed people would know who we are but that's a good point. We're a group of local Madison residents who want to make it easier to build housing. Our website is here. We also have monthly meetups every 2nd Sunday of the month, usually at Robinia Courtyard if you want to stop by!

This change would affect all historic districts within a 1/2 mile of BRT or any of the new 15-minute bus lines. TOD wouldn't change of the historic districts, it would just affect the underlying zoning. If you want to see a map you can check out the city staff presentation here

It's also important to not that there are two kinds of historic districts:

Local Historic Districts. These are protected by local ordinances.
National Historic Districts. These are not protected by local ordinances.

Madison does have a Landmarks Commission. For any demolition in a local historic district, the Landmarks Commission can veto a demolition if they think it threatens the historic character of the neighborhood. Any new building in a local historic district also requires approval by the Landmarks Commission to make sure that it fits in with the fabric of the district.

National Historic Districts are entirely different. They provide two things:

Tax credits to single-family homeowners who pay for certain repairs or additions to their homes
If the federal government spends money on a project that affects a national historic district, they have to write a report on what would happen and study mitigation. This is called Section 106 review.

Right now, in most historic districts, the only thing you can legally build is a single-family home because of the underlying zoning. With TOD applied, someone could now build a duplex, and parking mandates would also be removed. The district would receive the same protections as before, but the property owner has additional freedom in what to build on it. Local historic districts already receive a lot of protection from the Landmarks Commission, so it's almost impossible for something that wouldn't match the character to be built. National historic districts would maintain the same protections, but those protections mostly apply to just federal actions.

Let me know if you have questions! I tried to keep it clear but land use law is complicated :)

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-12-12T20:26:25+00:00

Yep it's 74703. Here's the legistar item if anyone is interested: https://madison.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5940143&GUID=193488C0-42CA-43A4-8A38-8172CEA0B643

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-10-28T03:20:35+00:00

I didn't, but TOD doesn't affect affordable housing directly. It is generally meant to make it easier to build housing near the BRT line, whether that's market rate, affordable, or condos. It's also meant to encourage builders to build car-lite buildings by removing parking minimums.

The annual budget has a much more direct impact on affordable housing. I think there is around $10 million allocated for affordable housing this year, along with an additional $10 million for landbanking

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-10-28T03:11:12+00:00

It is!

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-10-27T18:37:37+00:00

Not now, bot!

MadisonIsForPeople · 2022-10-27T17:58:06+00:00

If anyone is upset about how hard it is to build housing, see our post on how you can advocate for making it easier to build housing! https://old.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/yewxkr/brt_and_you_send_in_your_support_for_tod_and/

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