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Council approves certified survey map for West Towne Mall lot; alder votes no over traffic and flood concerns
Summary
The Madison Common Council on Oct. 7 approved a certified survey map (Legistar 89,482) to create a parcel for a proposed coffee shop at 53 West Towne Mall; the Plan Commission recommended approval with conditions and Alder Pritchett recorded a no vote citing traffic and flood concerns.
The Madison Common Council on Oct. 7 approved a certified survey map (CSM) to create a parcel at 53 West Towne Mall in District 9 (Legistar 89,482). The Plan Commission had recommended adoption with conditions; the council approved the CSM and recorded Alder Pritchett as voting no.
Alder Pritchett, who attended the Plan Commission review, said she remained concerned about the parcel because of prior flooding in February 2019 and because she believes the immediate area already has several high-concentration ground-floor coffee and drive-through uses. She asked how the council could consider future traffic, congestion and flood risks when the council was being asked to approve only the land division.
Planning Director Megan Tuttle and other staff explained that the Plan Commission had reviewed the conditional-use request for the coffee shop and the associated standards, and that the council’s action on the CSM concerns only the division of land. Staff said stormwater-management ordinances and the city’s transportation engineering review were considered as part of the conditional-use review at Plan Commission. Tuttle said that traffic and site layout questions had been reviewed by the city’s transportation engineering team and that conditional-use-related conditions remained under Plan Commission jurisdiction.
Several councilmembers said they share unease about auto-oriented uses in transit-oriented development (TOD) areas but noted procedural limits: the council had delegated conditional-use permit authority to the Plan Commission, and the commission’s decision is appealable but not reversible by the council at this stage.
Moved and seconded and adopted with conditions; the council recorded Alder Pritchett as voting no and otherwise approved the CSM.
Ending: Council members said they expect staff to continue work on TOD policies and suggested further engagement with staff on how drive-through and auto-oriented uses fit within future area planning.
