Plan Commission recommends denial of Elio Living preliminary plat and places proposed rezoning on file without prejudice

The Madison Plan Commission on March 3 recommended that the proposed rezoning for 6303 Portage Road and 4821 Hepker Road be placed on file without prejudice and recommended denial of the preliminary plat for the Elio Living project after staff raised plan‑consistency and topography concerns.

Planning staff told the commission the applicant seeks to subdivide roughly 39.26 acres into lots and outlots, rezoning portions from temporary agricultural to TRP (a residential plan district) to permit future residential development. The conceptual plan submitted by the applicant envisions about 200 rental units on two TRP lots; the residential building complex use would be a conditional use in the TRP district and would require later Plan Commission and Urban Design Commission reviews.

Staff said neighborhood development plans adopted for the area—the Pumpkin Hollow plan and the Ratman plan—recommend a network of local streets and designate most of the Portage parcel for stormwater management and open space because a wooded ravine and an intermittent stream that forms headwaters of Starkweather Creek cross the site. Those features, staff said, create unfavorable topography, and the subdivision regulations bar development of land subject to flooding, poor drainage, severe erosion potential or unfavorable topography. Staff advised the commission that the proposed rezoning and preliminary plat were inconsistent with the plan recommendations for the site and that the subdivision regulations’ criteria were not met.

Members of the applicant team, represented at the hearing, said they coordinated with state authorities and that the Department of Natural Resources had not mapped the stream as an environmental corridor; the applicant said the design team can accommodate drainage and grading constraints and that the plan reflects only the parcels under the applicant’s control. The applicant also noted a portion of the 6303 parcel (about 23 acres) was annexed from the Town of Burke on May 1, 2023 and said it is pursuing planned street connections to Portage Road to address access concerns raised by staff and the Fire Department.

Commissioners moved to place the rezoning request on file without prejudice because of the rezoning’s inconsistency with the Pumpkin Hollow and Ratman neighborhood plans and recommended denial of the preliminary plat under the subdivision standards. The motions were recorded as unanimously approved.

What’s next: Staff said the applicant can revise proposals and return with materials that better align the site plan and subdivision layout with the adopted neighborhood plans and the subdivision‑regulation standards; the commission noted the applicant and staff could continue design discussions if the applicant seeks to address the topographical constraints and street network recommendations.

Sources: Staff presentation and public hearing record of the March 3, 2025 Madison Plan Commission meeting; applicant remarks recorded during the hearing.