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City staff brief committee on Assembly bills on planning and accessory dwelling units; DCD and aldermen flag concerns
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Summary
City Development staff and Legislative Affairs described two state bills under fast consideration in the Assembly — a so‑called “Truth in Planning” bill (AB453) and an accessory dwelling unit bill (AB449). Staff said AB453 would require more granular, numeric density projections in municipal comprehensive plans and could change how zoning changes
City planning and legislative staff briefed the committee on two Assembly bills that were moving rapidly in Madison: Assembly Bill 453 (the so‑called “Truth in Planning” bill) and Assembly Bill 449 (changes to rules for accessory dwelling units).
Sam Leichling and Tanya Fonseca of the Department of City Development and representatives of the Legislative Affairs Division explained AB453 would require municipalities to adopt more detailed future‑population and housing‑density projections in their comprehensive plans and to identify parcel‑level minimum and maximum densities intended to meet those projections. Under the proposed statute, zoning changes that align with the adopted plan’s density prescriptions could become harder to deny; staff said the city would have until Jan. 1, 2028 to bring its plan into compliance if the bill became law.
City staff emphasized the bill’s substantial technical demands — both in analytical workload and in legal implications for local zoning control — while also noting a provision of the package their office supports: an extension from one year to two years of the period the city may retain tax‑increment financing (TIF) proceeds for affordable‑housing purposes. That extension, city staff said, would materially increase local resources for housing programs and is a priority for the city.
On AB449 (the ADU bill), staff described provisions that are both more and less permissive than the city’s ADU rules adopted earlier in 2025. Key differences include removal of a local owner‑occupancy requirement in the state bill and a prohibition on using newly created ADUs for short‑term rentals. The bill defers to local setbacks and certain local standards, while limiting some local controls that the city recently put in place.
Committee members queried staff about the analytic basis for any mandatory density projections and how population projections would be insulated from political pressure; staff said they would rely on established demographic and planning projections and commit to early, transparent collaboration with aldermen. Staff also noted the legislation’s quick timeline — the Assembly was scheduled to vote within days of the committee meeting — and the department’s registration on the bills as “other” with comments supporting the TIF extension while opposing reductions in local zoning authority. The committee asked staff to return with additional analysis and to include representatives from Legislative Affairs and city legal counsel if the bills advanced further.
