Plan Commission recommends rezoning and preliminary plat for Leo Living subdivision in Alder District 17

The City of Madison Plan Commission on Oct. 20 recommended approval of a zoning map amendment and a preliminary plat for the Leo Living subdivision at 6303 Portage Road and 4821 Hepker Road in Alder District 17, forwarding both items to the Common Council with conditions.

City planning staff said the proposal — to rezone the parcels from Temporary Agricultural (Temp A) to Traditional Residential Plan (TRP) and to create six lots for future residential development — generally aligns with the adopted Ratman and Pumpkin Hollow neighborhood plans and the city’s residential housing-mix guidance. Tim Parks, planning staff, told the commission the application is “generally consistent with the land use recommendations” but requires refinements before final platting.

Staff emphasis and recommended conditions focus on three items: identifying and reserving open space and stormwater outlots, adding a third east–west local street in the master plan, and providing a second public access or fully sprinkling all future residential buildings. Parks said the southwestern portion of the site is expected to remain as wooded open-space and stormwater management area because it contains the headwaters of Starkweather Creek’s West Branch.

Brian Randall, an attorney for the applicant, said the project team revised the plan after an earlier denial this year and acquired additional land to shift development away from the wooded ravine. “We were denied earlier this year, but it was a substantially different plan,” Randall said, adding the applicant has worked with staff and plans to return with the conditional use application and updated plat materials.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant to show how proposed dedications (a park outlot, stormwater outlots and the additional local street) will be reflected as parcel boundaries so future zoning districts can be mapped without splitting lots. Staff recommended the applicant submit a revised preliminary plat that addresses the October 20 staff report conditions and returns to the Plan Commission and Common Council to guide final platting.

The Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the zoning map amendment (Legistar 89899, creating Madison General Ordinances section 28.022-00728) and to forward the preliminary plat of Leo Living (Legistar 89767) to the Common Council subject to the conditions in the staff report, chief among them the revised preliminary plat requirement and either dedication of a second public access or full sprinkling of buildings.

Next steps: The zoning map amendment and the preliminary plat will be considered by the Common Council; the applicant is expected to submit a conditional use application and a revised preliminary plat that responds to the staff conditions before final plat or building approvals.

Votes at a glance

- Zoning map amendment (Legistar 89899 / create sec. 28.022‑00728): Plan Commission recommended approval and forwarded to Common Council, unanimous vote. - Preliminary plat of Leo Living (Legistar 89767): Plan Commission recommended approval and forwarded to Common Council, unanimous vote.