City Council sets public hearing for proposed 89.27-acre Bowers Road rezoning after public objections

The Madison City Council on Dec. 31 voted to set a public hearing for Feb. 10 to consider rezoning approximately 89.27 acres on the west side of Bowers Road from agricultural to cluster residential zoning.

The rezoning request, identified in council materials as resolution 2024-430-R, was brought back to the council after the Planning Commission issued a negative recommendation and after public commenters urged council members to reject the request. Staff recommended the council hold a public hearing so the applicant could present additional information directly to the council.

Developer and longtime local builder Mark Anderson, who identified himself as a real estate broker and developer, told the council the property was annexed in February 2009 and said engineers will design a detention pond to address drainage, noting an adjacent 17-acre parcel to the south currently drains onto the site. “The detention pond will be designed to capture our drainage as well as the drainage that's coming from the south property,” Anderson said. He also said a traffic engineer concluded no turn lane would be required and that Madison Utilities issued a will-serve letter for sanitary sewer, with alternate low-pressure force-main options if needed.

Residents who spoke during public comment urged the council to deny or further scrutinize the request. Tammy Burgreen asked, “How many times can something be presented before it's, like, put to bed and not brought up again?” Jocelyn Brower, who said she represents District 4, told the council she was “caught off guard” the resolution returned to the agenda and urged members to vote no, saying nothing presented to date changed the grounds for the earlier denial.

Planning staff (Megan) told council members there is currently no limit in the city zoning ordinance on how many times an applicant may submit an application, and staff recommended the council hold a public hearing because the council legally has the final decision on zoning matters and might hear additional information not presented to the Planning Commission.

The council’s vote to set the Feb. 10 public hearing passed. The Planning Commission previously made a negative recommendation on the request; the applicant asked the council to consider the matter directly and the hearing will allow both applicant and opponents to present evidence and testimony to the full council.

If the council proceeds with the public hearing on Feb. 10, it will be the next formal step before the council can approve, deny, or modify the rezoning request. Further technical details about detention design, sewer tie options and any traffic mitigation will be considered in staff reports and at that hearing.