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Plan Commission approves 21-unit residential development at Spirit Street, leaves parking stalls intact
Summary
The commission approved a conditional-use permit for a two-building, 21-unit apartment complex at 9453 Spirit Street and declined an Urban Design Commission recommendation to remove four surface parking stalls, voting unanimously to keep the stalls.
The Madison Plan Commission voted unanimously on May 12 to approve a conditional-use permit for a two-building residential complex at 9453 Spirit Street that would contain 21 apartments and 30 parking spaces, with commissioners rejecting a UDC recommendation to remove four surface stalls adjacent to an on-site open space.
City planner Lisa (staff) summarized the proposal, saying the project proposes a nine-unit building and a 12-unit building with one garage parking stall per unit plus nine surface stalls for a total of 30 parking spaces. Planner staff noted the current plans would result in a parking ratio of about 1.4 stalls per unit, lower than a previously approved 15-unit plan for the same site that carried a two-space-per-unit ratio.
Members of the applicant team, including Kevin Burrow of Kenoeth and Bruce Architects, described the design and said most units are larger two-bedroom homes. "We feel that the additional surface stalls would really not render much more additional green space given the location of the transformer and the sidewalk areas," Burrow said, and asked the commission to retain the four stalls the Urban Design Commission had recommended removing.
Applicant Ryan McMurtry added the tenant mix is heavily two-bedroom—about 86% of units are two-bedroom—and said preserving the surface stalls would better match residents' needs in a suburban location with limited transit access.
Commissioners and alder members asked about street parking, accessibility to transit and operational details such as trash and large-item pickup. Staff said Spirit Street will be new and that public parking is expected to be allowed on Spirit Street per maps, while Bear Claw Way is shown as restricted to no street parking. The commission heard that the nearest frequent bus service is roughly a mile to a mile and a half away, making the site less transit-accessible and informing members' views on parking needs.
After discussion the commission voted to find that the conditional-use approval standards were met and to approve the project subject to the reviewing agencies' recommended conditions, excepting the UDC's recommendation to remove the four parking stalls. The motion to approve with that exception passed unanimously.
Key project details recorded on the public record: 21 apartments in two buildings; 30 parking stalls (21 garage plus 9 surface); parking ratio approximately 1.4 stalls per unit; project includes private patios/balconies for each unit and internal garage access to units. Staff advised that the applicant prefers to retain the four contested surface stalls and that UDC is an advisory body whose parking recommendation may be modified by the Planning Commission.
The commission recorded the approval as unanimous and closed the public hearing after taking comments from the applicant and neighborhood registrants.
