Plan Commission backs Oakwood Village plan with TOD and bike‑parking waivers

The Madison Plan Commission voted to recommend that the Common Council approve an amended General Development Plan and a Specific Implementation Plan for Oakwood Village University Woods, allowing construction of a five‑story, 92‑unit independent living building in the center of the campus.

The motion, moved by Alder Eugeier and seconded by Commissioner Solheim, included explicit waivers: an exception to the TOD (Transit‑Oriented Development) frontage requirements because the building will replace existing campus structures in a central location and a reduction in the number of bike‑parking stalls from the zoning code requirement. The motion passed by unanimous consent and the commission said it will forward the recommendation to Council.

Staff described the application as generally consistent with the West Area Plan and noted the project replaces existing buildings on an established institutional campus. Planning staff said the Zoning Code would require 1 bike stall per dwelling unit plus visitor stalls — a total of 107 bike parking stalls for the proposed building — and that the applicant is proposing 30 stalls (20 inside, 10 surface). "In this case, that would be a total of 107 bike parking stalls based on the number of dwelling units," said Tim Parks, planning staff, explaining the code requirement and pointing commissioners to condition 46 in the staff report for how the number is memorialized.

Oakwood representatives told commissioners the waiver was requested because relatively few residents currently bike. "We have about 5 to 7% of our resident population, [who] use bikes," said Keith Van Landet of Oakwood's leadership, describing campus‑wide bike accommodations, volunteer transportation programs and existing underground bike storage on other buildings.

Commissioners pressed the applicant about potential precedent from granting a TOD waiver and about accommodating e‑bikes and future residents. Planning staff advised motions granting waivers should cite the project's site‑specific circumstances — including steep topography, established oak trees and the historical planned development pattern dating to the 1973 plan unit development — that differentiate this campus from typical new developments.

The staff report and conditions require coordination with the Urban Design Commission and include review items related to bike parking counts, landscape and stormwater design. The commission's recommendation will be transmitted to the Common Council for final action.