Fort Atkinson plan commission approves Madison College accessory building, recommends three certified survey maps to council

The Fort Atkinson Plan Commission on July 14 approved a site plan for a 2,400-square-foot accessory storage building at Madison College, located at 827 Banker Road, and recommended three certified survey maps (CSMs) to the City Council.

Mister Draeger, a city staff member who presented the agenda items, said the new accessory structure would sit behind the campus, face the parking lot and be used for storage. Draeger told the commission the project met most development standards but required several conditions: the applicant must combine the two existing parcels, provide an updated site plan showing any ground- or roof-mounted mechanical equipment, obtain required permits and accept a waiver of the 50% class 1 material requirement on the building’s north and south facades because the structure is set back from Madison Avenue.

"City staff does recommend the plan commission approve the site plan for the accessory structure ... located at 827 Banker Road subject to the following conditions," Draeger said, reading the staff recommendation.

The commission moved to approve the site plan subject to the staff conditions; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

As part of the approval, staff presented a preliminary certified survey map to combine the two parcels at 827 Banker Road and to correct mapping errors found while cross-checking county GIS records. Draeger said the CSM also noted existing structures and identified which would be removed for the project. He asked the commission to recommend City Council approve the preliminary CSM subject to the corrections listed in the staff report.

During the CSM discussion, Draeger noted the map recorded a narrower road dedication than the city typically requires and recommended increasing the recorded dedication to the city standard. The commission recommended that CSM to City Council by motion; the vote carried 4–0.

Staff then presented an extraterritorial certified survey map (CSM 2026-09) for property at N 2682 Coutts Road that splits the property into three lots: a roughly 1.15-acre single-family lot, a roughly 1-acre A-2 lot for a shop, and the remaining acreage to stay A-1. Draeger noted minor mapping corrections and requested the commission waive the city's typical requirement to dedicate public right-of-way for this extraterritorial map, citing prior practice by the county and a state statute that can establish long-used roads as public right-of-way. The commission voted to recommend approval of that extraterritorial CSM to City Council; the item is scheduled for the July 21 City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Later in the meeting, Chairperson and Manager Hausman outlined a staff practice change: moving forward, certified survey maps that do not create a separate buildable parcel and do not dedicate public right-of-way or utility easements will be processed administratively by staff rather than coming before the Plan Commission. Hausman said this change is possible under current land division and zoning code interpretations and should speed up routine adjustments that do not create buildable lots.

Motions and votes at the July 14 meeting included approval of the June 23, 2026 minutes and unanimous recommendation votes on the site plan and associated CSMs. The meeting adjourned at 4:19 p.m.

Next steps: the City Council will review the recommended CSM items at its July 21 meeting; applicants must satisfy the staff conditions (parcel combination, updated site plan and permits) before final permits are issued.