Plan Commission approves conditional use permit for Madison Liquidators, defers final site plan pending runway‑protection and landscaping conditions

The Middleton Plan Commission approved a conditional use permit and advanced a site implementation plan (SIP) for Madison Liquidators at 3310 Deming Way, but commissioners amended the permitting conditions to address airport safety and landscaping before final site‑plan sign‑off.

The commission approved Resolution 2025‑43 to allow an ancillary retail use in the Airport Road Business Park, but amended condition 1a to require "relocation or removal of the runway protection zone" (RPZ) language and struck the original sentence that placed narrower obligations on the applicant. Commissioners said the amendment clarifies that satisfying the RPZ requirement could be achieved through several routes, including city‑led options, rather than relying solely on applicant action or FAA approval.

Staff had explained that RPZ protections stem from FAA guidance and the city’s airport master plan and that the RPZ was established in 2004; the city enforces RPZ protections through zoning and conditional‑use conditions as part of its FAA grant assurances. Commissioners and staff stressed the difference between zoning height limits and RPZ rules: the zoning code regulates height, while the RPZ is intended to preclude structures in specified approach areas.

Commissioners also approved the SIP with a deferral: the SIP was found to meet approval criteria but its final effective date is deferred pending completion of 11 conditions. The new eleventh condition requires staff confirmation that the landscaping plan meets the zoning code’s native‑plant requirement; staff noted the applicant’s submitted checklist reported 98% native plantings but commissioners asked staff to verify that percentage.

During deliberations, commissioners raised traffic and driveway concerns near Airport Road that could require the traffic impact analysis (TIA) to mandate driveway relocation or design changes; Nick of Sketchworks Architects described the proposed layout with a northern driveway for customers and a southern driveway primarily for trucks and warehouse access, and said civil engineering review will determine whether shifting driveways is practicable.

The record also includes a noted annual cost the city pays for a navigation easement on a largely RPZ‑encumbered property — $114,000 per year — which commissioners cited when discussing alternatives for protecting airport approaches. Tim Carey, representing the buyer of the property, declined to speak in detail at the meeting, saying the buyer’s position had already been communicated to counsel.

The SIP approval is effective only after the applicant satisfies the listed conditions, including the city‑and applicant‑facing options to address the RPZ and staff confirmation of landscaping.