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Planning staff presents 2024 year-in-review; zoning and subdivision code rewrite highlighted
Summary
City planning staff summarized 2024 development activity and flagged the zoning and subdivision code rewrite as the year’s major ongoing project; staff also announced withdrawal of a rezoning application for 3301 Sand Hill Drive while confirming Sand Hill roadway work will proceed.
Planning-division staff gave the Janesville Plan Commission an overview of major planning and building activity from 2024 and outlined upcoming work on a zoning and subdivision code rewrite.
Staff described the recodification project as the largest planning undertaking now underway, noting consultants Grama and CivicTec are assisting with public engagement, focus groups and initial drafting. "The most significant project...will be the recodification of the city zoning and subdivision ordinances," planning staff told the commission.
Staff reviewed highlights from 2024 including commercial redevelopments, downtown building conversions and public-infrastructure work. Examples included a QuikTrip convenience store and car wash at 1900 Center Avenue, a new Burger King with a drive-through, redevelopment near Lodge and Milton Avenue, and a Riverfront property acquisition south of Traxler Park. Staff reported new construction and redevelopment across commercial, industrial and residential sectors and said earlier planning reviews supported these projects.
On housing metrics, staff reported 317 new dwelling units were added in 2024 and that the city issued 89 permits for new housing starts. Staff gave a breakdown for new housing starts, stating 65 were single-family homes and 15 were mobile homes; the transcript provided unclear detail for the number of two-family starts and did not specify certain itemized counts.
Staff also announced the rezoning request for property at 3301 Sand Hill Drive had been withdrawn by Horizon Development and the property owner; however, staff clarified the planned Sand Hill Drive extension and associated public work are still moving forward even though that rezoning application is no longer active.
Other items in the annual recap included: administrative reviews and conditional use permits (about 17), 40 site-plan reviews, several industrial additions (including a 31,000-square-foot facility at 2320 Foster Avenue), and park and trail projects such as the Aquanix facility at Palmer Park (targeted for a late-May opening). Staff said the Janesville-MPO will undertake a required five-year update to the long-range transportation plan in 2025 and that the Historic Commission reviewed 13 projects and submitted National Register nominations for three elementary schools.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about projects such as the Sand Hill Drive work and the disposition of 101 South Rockport Road. Staff replied the Sand Hill construction is proceeding but that a particular developer withdrew an associated rezoning application after failing to secure tax credits; staff said 101 South Rockport Road remains in the developer’s due-diligence phase and the city has no firm update on its submittal schedule.
No formal action was required or taken on the year-in-review presentation.
