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Committee reviews zoning checklist, ADUs and parkland fees as tools to expand housing
Summary
Middleton staff told the committee the city largely meets regional zoning best practices; members discussed ADUs, utility and financing barriers, pocket neighborhoods and a parkland fee structure that may favor one-bedroom units and warrant review.
Middleton staff briefed the Workforce Housing Committee on a Dane County best-practice zoning checklist and led a wider discussion about accessory dwelling units (ADUs), pocket neighborhoods and developer fee structures during the April 20 meeting.
Scott, the staff presenter, said he completed the county checklist for Middleton and found the city largely follows recommended zoning practices. He noted that some single-family-exclusive districts remain but the city allows attached ADUs of roughly the same size by right in residential districts.
Members turned to ADUs as a near-term strategy to increase housing options. A committee member explained barriers: financing, utility laterals and inspection requirements. Scott said the building inspector has "strongly recommended having a separate shutoff for those so that say if the main owner was gone and something happened, the person needs the ability to turn their water on and off themselves," which adds cost but improves safety.
The committee also discussed "pocket neighborhoods" (clusters of small houses around a common green) as another option, but staff cautioned about fire and emergency access, financing constraints where units are on a single lot and developer interest.
On fees, members reviewed a fee table carried over from ordinance appendices and flagged that parkland dedication fees differ by unit size: multi'family one'bedroom (or less) is listed at 746 while other units are listed at 1,240 per the table discussed; staff said the table will be cleaned up to match ordinance language and that fee-in-lieu calculations are intended to approximate per-acre park costs converted to units.
Committee members asked staff to coordinate with the parks department and bring a cleaner, apples'to'apples fee comparison for future discussion. Staff also agreed to explore outreach and educational materials (model ADU plans, workshops) to lower barriers for homeowners and developers.
The committee did not vote on zoning changes or fees at the meeting but identified concrete follow-ups: request a refined fee comparison, consider ADU outreach and off-the-shelf ADU plans to reduce construction barriers, and report back on how site-plan options like pocket neighborhoods could be supported.
