Planning Commission approves demolition and conditional-use permits for new Cherokee Middle School despite neighborhood traffic concerns

The City of Madison Planning Commission voted to approve a demolition permit and three conditional-use requests that will allow the Madison Metropolitan School District to build a new Cherokee Middle School at 4301 Cherokee Drive.

Planner Chris Wells told the commission the existing institutional building, constructed in 1954 and reviewed by the Landmarks Commission, was found to have some vernacular interest but was not "historically, architecturally, or culturally significant," and that staff "believe that these factors could be found to outweigh the public interest in preserving the historic resource." Staff also noted the Urban Design Commission granted initial approval on July 15, 2026.

District representative Susan Bowersox described the site plan: the new building will sit on the west side of the existing footprint, the main entrance will remain on the north side off Cherokee Drive, bus staging will occur along the Cherokee Drive curve, service and fire access will come from Midvale, a large heritage oak will be preserved, and new playground and outdoor spaces are included. Bowersox also said the design will include a chimney swift tower developed in coordination with the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.

The proposal increases on-site parking from roughly 50 stalls today to about 85 stalls in the plan — a roughly 35% increase staff tied to higher staffing and program needs. Representative Sheehy said the district’s cost analyses and program needs also drove the decision: existing classrooms average about 750 square feet while new learning spaces range from roughly 800–900 square feet, and the district concluded that when renovation costs approach about 60% of replacement costs, replacement is typically more cost-effective.

Commissioner Wisniewski raised traffic and neighborhood-safety concerns, saying he was "terribly disappointed in seeing these drop-off lines" and worried concentrated drop-off loops could shift congestion onto adjacent residential streets. Representative Sheehy and planning staff said a Transportation Demand Management plan and a drop-off/pickup and parking plan will be required and reviewed by Transportation Engineering to help manage circulation and minimize vehicle trips.

Alderman Ugar moved to approve the demolition permit (Legistar 93594); Commissioner Solheim seconded. Roll-call on the demolition motion recorded Alder Field, Alder Figueroa Cole, Commissioner Bazin, Commissioner Heck, Commissioner Sanders and Commissioner Solheim as voting aye and Commissioner Wisniewski voting no; the motion passed. The commission then approved the three conditional-use requests (Legistar 93277) by the same roll-call result.

Next steps: approvals are subject to the conditions contained in the staff report (including the required TDM and parking/drop-off plans) and any subsequent permitting steps; staff and the district indicated project team members are available to answer technical questions during review.