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Waunakee resident urges village to treat housing shortage as a crisis
Summary
At the start of the meeting, resident Robert McPherson told the Village Board the community is undersupplying restricted and affordable units and said declining school enrollment is an early sign of trouble. He urged the board to act on zoning and code changes rather than rely solely on one-time programs.
Robert McPherson, 1703 Alexandria Court in Waunakee, told the Village Board the community is facing a housing crisis he said is already affecting the school district.
"We know housing isn't a crisis in Dane County. We are a part of Dane County. And, you know, I really want I I really think as a constituent, I wanna know what it means to you," McPherson said during the public-comment period. He cited the county housing study and village figures showing 122 new units produced in 2024 while the study's target was 201 units per year.
McPherson said the village created just 46 restricted units for households at or below 60% of area median income in 2024, and that Waunakee's housing, and transportation costs place the community among the most costly in the greater Madison area. He pointed to a seven-year horizon of attention to housing supply and urged the board to consider code and land-use changes rather than relying only on programs such as an ADU ordinance, down-payment assistance or a housing fund.
"Doing nothing is not a choice in this case. You need to try something. You might fail. It's fine," McPherson said.
The comment was delivered at the start of the meeting during the public-comment period. Board members acknowledged the remarks and moved into the finance committee portion of the agenda where housing supply was not an agenda item but staff and trustees later discussed budget and staffing matters.
The comments represent a request by a resident that the board treat housing supply as a policy priority; no formal action was taken on the floor of the meeting in response to the public comment.
