What are (and are not) TODs?
TOD = Transit Oriented DevelopmentThe Whole Foods project we rejected last night was not a TOD.Last night during the Whole Foods/Joseph Freed discussion, there...
Plan Commission Mania!
Last night's plan commission was pretty grueling, but productive. Partially due to lack of quorum at the last Plan Commission meeting, and partially...
The War Against Neighborhoods
Last night at the Common Council meeting (live-blogged by Kristian at the Isthmus) a group of conservatives (I guess that's what you call them?)...
East Washington BUILD Committee
A few weeks ago, an email I sent to the East Washington BUILD Committee caused a typical panic and backlash from members of the...
Inclusionary Zoning – Just twisted
One thing I learned from inclusionary zoning is that the development community doesn't all think alike. In fact, often, two people from the same...
Breaking Down How the Council Decides if they Should Overturn the Landmarks Commission
The decision before the council on Tuesday in NOT whether they should approve the Edgewater project, it is only a question of if they...
Revised TIF policy – will it take 3 years, or more?
Q: How long could it possibly take for the City of Madison to pass revisions to the TIF policy?A: An unbelieveably long...
Budget time is coming, and I"m feeling cranky.
You know, when we pass the budget, we fight quite a bit over what does and does not get funded. We scrimp and...
Horror of Horrors
“Unfortunately, (the park) is taken over by folks who sit there all day and hang out."Sometimes, smart people, say dumb things. People who...
The City Attorney’s Opinion on How To Decide on the Edgewater
The key to the Council's decision is . . . Thus, the question comes down to whether the Council finds that “owing to special...
Citizens Input cut out of Planning and Development Reorganization
First the boards, committees and commissions were cut out of the process . . . and now, public comment will be taken ....
What’s a Brownfield? The State Capital?
Ok - so in actually reading the info for the Economic Development Commission Meeting, I discovered that my house and my recently redeveloped office...