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Plan Commission backs TOD overlay update to allow 3‑ and 4‑unit homes, narrows curbside auto uses
Summary
The Madison Plan Commission voted Dec. 1 to recommend a package of zoning changes to the Common Council that expand allowed housing types in Transit Oriented Development (TOD) overlays — including permitting 3‑ and 4‑unit buildings citywide in the TOD — and to separate and allow auto‑rental while prohibiting auto‑sales and standalone surface parking in TOD areas.
The Madison Plan Commission on Monday recommended that the Common Council adopt a group of zoning map and text changes intended to increase housing choice and curb auto‑oriented uses in the city's Transit Oriented Development overlay. The package, identified as Legistar 90552, would extend permitted 3‑ and 4‑unit residential buildings across residential zones in the TOD overlay, tighten drive‑thru standards to buildings of three stories and greater that cover at least 60% of a lot, and block new standalone surface parking lots, car washes and auto‑sales within TOD boundaries.
Planner Colin Punt told the commission the package is designed to implement the Housing Forward plan and to support “missing‑middle” housing near high‑frequency transit. He said redevelopment would remain voluntary and property owners would need to initiate any changes. The ordinance also includes a map‑based set of rezones to regional mixed‑use or commercial corridor transitional districts in several areas described in area plans.
The commission also approved an amendment—supported by the Housing Policy Committee and Transportation Commission—that splits auto sales from auto rental in zoning tables and would continue to prohibit auto sales while allowing auto rental in the TOD. Commissioner Solheim moved the commission recommendation with that alternate; the motion passed and will go to the Common Council for final action.
Opponents at the public hearing raised preservation concerns about University Hill Farms, a National Register historic district that lies inside parts of the TOD overlay. Joseph Robert Keyes told the commission that allowing four‑unit buildings in national register districts would weaken homeowners’ access to rehabilitation tax credits and could threaten the neighborhood’s character. Preservation planner Heather Bailey responded that National Register status is honorary and that changes in use do not remove eligibility for federal rehabilitation tax credits; only a local historic designation would impose design protections. The commission chose not to adopt a proposed amendment that would have made 3‑ and 4‑unit buildings conditional in the Hill Farms National Register district.
What happens next: the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Common Council, which is scheduled to consider the ordinance package later this month.
