The Madison County Planning and Zoning advisory board voted to approve the preliminary plat for the Madison Fields development on Dec. 9, authorizing a 147‑lot project that includes 65 cottages and 82 estate lots, board members said.

The approval was conditioned on two items identified in the staff packet: community sewer approval from the county health authority and completion of a traffic impact study with any required modifications. Speaker 3 moved that approval be contingent on compliance with those two items, and the board adopted the motion before forwarding the plat to the Board of Commissioners for final action.

Speaker 1, the applicant and presenter, summarized the plat and the development concept, saying the estate lots will be "an acre plus" and that "the preliminary plat before you meets those standards." He described the project's design goal as creating a walkable, town‑like community that mixes smaller cottages and larger estate lots to encourage activity throughout the neighborhood rather than clustering housing types in separate areas. "We wanted it to be like a historic town where everybody knows your name," Speaker 1 said.

On density and design details, Speaker 1 said cottages will have a minimum of 1,500 square feet and each cottage will be a detached, standalone home. Board members observed that the zoning documents list a 35‑foot maximum height under the Madison County zoning ordinance, while the preliminary plat paperwork cites a 32‑foot maximum in some places; Speaker 1 acknowledged both the ordinance and the page reference on the plat.

Speaker 1 also addressed short‑term rental controls. Asked whether owners could rent cottages on platforms like VRBO, he said zoning prohibits unmanaged short‑term rentals: "we would have no short term rentals outside of anything that was going through the club or member to member short term rentals, but no, like, VRBO." Under the approach described, short‑term rentals would be permitted only if facilitated through the clubhouse and managed by the club.

Regarding infrastructure, Speaker 1 said county approval is needed before the project can finalize its community sewer application to the state environmental agency (EPD). "We've already met with the EPD on‑site. They said this is a good candidate," he said, urging prompt local approval to keep the EPD process on schedule. On traffic, he said the traffic impact study is underway and the developer is committed to making whatever changes the study requires.

The board noted it will forward the approved preliminary plat to the Board of Commissioners on the schedule discussed in the meeting packet. The applicant offered to schedule site visits for board members before permanent gates are installed on the property.

Next steps: the plat will go to the Board of Commissioners for final consideration; the applicant must secure community sewer approval and complete the traffic impact study before final plat privileges advance.