Lots to comment on . . . not just the Edgewater . . .
MADISON SCHOOLS GET VISIT FROM POCAN AND MILLER
Last Monday they stopped by for a chat with the school board. Here’s a report on their meeting. It’s the only one I could find and I had been curious how it went as I had gotten an email about it. At the end of the post he includes this suggestion that I thought I’d share for those who care about school funding:
It isn’t easy to move elected officials from words to action. One thing that helps is a show of public support. You can do this in two ways (do both): First go to the Penny for Kids website and sign the petition; second, send Mark Pocan a quick email saying you support Penny for Kids and he should too. You don’t even have to explain why — he gets it.
OH . . . THE IRONY . . .
Apparently, this played right before the Joint Urban Design Commission and Landmarks Commission meeting. You know, the “handful of unelected people” that should be ignored because the Council knows better . . .
I don’t know who took the time to do that, but I appreciate it. I had gotten a clip of it from a neighborhood person but the video wasn’t working, only the sound. Their description with the video is as follows:
Madison, Wi Mayor Dave Cieslewicz bashed members of his Landmarks Commission after they ruled in a way he didn’t like. He called them a “handful of unelected people on one committee” and described the process as “fundamentally undemocratic” even though he appointed them. In this PSA, Mayor Dave asks residents to serve on city committees. He does not mention that he’ll publicly bash your hard work . See here.
THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG
Dorothy Borchardt was quick to respond to news of the RTA appointments on Friday:
I bet the Mayor won’t think their decisions are “undemocratic.”
The WSJ reported that the Mayor thinks “unelected people on a committee shouldn’t be able to block important development it should be decided by the elected representatives of the people.” TCT reported the Mayor thinks it is “undemocratic for unelected people” to make decisions.”
If the Mayor feels unelected people shouldn’t be making big decisions …why did he support appointing an RTA Board before the referendum on an additional sales tax, to cover commuter rail, goes to the voters? Why didn’t he let the voters decide? Or, does it only apply to decisions made by the unelected individuals that the Mayor agrees with? If that is the case …look for trolleys to be added to the trains before Metro is expanded to meet the needs of the community.
HARSH WORDS FOR DAVE FROM FORMER CITY STAFF
Jay Rath continues his excellent coverage of the Edgewater issue. What surprised me tho, was this comment:
Kitty Rankin, for three decades the city’s preservation planner, is alarmed by such talk. “The mayor is in the development community’s lap by repeating a phrase that the Landmarks Commission process is flawed,” she says. “I have yet to see that it is indeed flawed.”
Ouch. Even more interesting is what Bob Dunn says:
“No, no,” says Hammes president Bob Dunn. The company promised from the start that its project would not set a precedent for the neighborhood. Now, however, it could set a precedent for the entire city. Dunn has plenty of problems with the ordinance, and he’d welcome change, but that “in no way was the intention of this project.”
Intention or not, that is the impact. Read the article, its good. I hear there is another one coming today.
STATE JOURNAL BACKFIRE?
Several folks have mentioned they’d like to thank the State Journal for urging people to contact their alders in support . . . they promptly contacted their alders in opposition. Alders have heard that as well from people who called.
SCREW THE LAW AND PUBLIC PROCESS
In the State Journal editorial on the Edgewater, they list 7 alders, who haven’t been engaged to the extent of Rummel and Verveer, who have made up their minds that they are voting in support of the Edgewater. I find it interesting, because to date, there has been no testimony or evidence provided that there is a hardship for the owner (not Hammes). Just a reminder, this is what the council must find first, then also find that that the meet the criteria for a certificate of appropriateness or variance (more here):
after balancing the interest of the public in preserving the subject property and the interest of the owner in using it for his or her own purposes, the Council finds that, owing to special conditions pertaining to the specific piece of property, failure to grant the Certificate of Appropriateness will preclude any and all reasonable use of the property and/or will cause serious hardship for the owner, provided that any self-created hardship shall not be a basis for reversal or modification of the Landmark Commission’s decision.
SURVEY SUCKS
I didn’t want to choose any of the option in the Channel 3 poll on the Edgewater, they too, are ignoring the law and just wanting people to vote on if they like the Edgewater project or not. The survey is really lopsided, but you can just keep voting, so its easy to manipulate. From the alders I’ve been talking to, their districts are either against or running about 50/50. No surprises that the downtown districts lean more against. As Alder Rummel put it, her constituents who live in historic districts don’t understand why they have to follow the law when replacing a porch railing, but a huge developer with lots of money gets to just ignore the laws.
ZWEIFEL JOINS IN
No, not in criticizing Mayor Dave . . . but, I was pleasantly surprised to see Zweifel write this piece in support of state legislation that would, among other things, restore funding for WYOU. Thanks Dave!
WHY IS OLINGER LEAVING?
Most people know, I’m not a big fan of Olinger. Many I know and respect are. So, I’m torn by the news of his departure personally. Politcally, I’m very nervous. While no one is talking much, Bruer pretty much said it all:
City Council President Tim Bruer said Cieslewicz is exercising his authority to shape the city’s administration, and that the mayor wants someone more in line with his vision and beliefs and desired management skills. Olinger has done nothing inappropriate, Bruer said
“The mayor is looking at changing demands and challenges facing the city and felt he needs to bring in a different manager,” Bruer said, adding that he supports the mayor’s decision.
Do we really want someone in line with his visions and beliefs?
STILL TIME TO GET YOUR SHOT
Public health is still hosting clinics for people to get their H1N1 flu shots. Here’s who’s eligible:
• Pregnant women
• Persons who live with or care for infants less than 6 months of age
• Children and young adults 6 months through 24 years
• People 25 through 64 years with underlying health conditions. For a listing of underlying health conditions
http://www.publichealthmdc.com/disease/swineflu/K12/UnderlyingConditions.cfm
More details here.
NEED TO HEAR FROM ARTS COMMUNITIES
Dear Madison Arts Community;
The City of Madison has been updating zoning codes to make them more user friendly, align with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan and neighborhood plans, reflect newer growth and work patterns, encourage biking and transit use, facilitate mixed-use sustainable development, and achieve quality in-fill development. Roughly two months ago, a new draft zoning code was introduced to Madison’s Common Council. Last month, that draft zoning code was referred to the Madison Arts Commission for their review and recommendations.
On Tuesday, December 8, at their 5:00pm meeting in room LL 110 of the Madison Municipal Building the Madison Arts Commission will discuss Madison’s proposed new zoning code language and how it may affect area artists.
There have been many opportunities for public input during the process of developing the new zoning code. However, members of MAC feel that, because zoning codes affect so many artists in our community, extra efforts should be made to inform artists of when and where the Madison Arts Commission discussion of this item is taking place and to invite participation. The commissioners welcome citizen input as they formulate their thoughts and their recommendations to council.
At a previous MAC meeting, City staff briefed MAC on the rewrite and identified the areas of the new code that had the greatest potential to impact artists. Therefore, commissioners are paying particular attention to areas of the code that relate to live/work space and use of accessory dwellings for artistic production.
The proposed code can be found on the City’s Zoning rewrite website:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/neighborhoods/zoningRewrite/If you cannot attend Tuesday night’s MAC meeting, please feel free to email your comments prior to or at their meeting and they will be shared with the commissioners (note: any written comments become a part of the permanent public record). There is also a “your thoughts” link on the zoning rewrite website that welcomes citizen input.
Sincerely,
Karin Wolf
Staff to the Madison Arts Commission
CANCELLED CITY MEETINGS
With snow coming, this is good timing. Looks like you can now sign up for an email list or rss feed to alert you to cancelled meetings. Much appreciated!
* RSS Feed: Cancelled Weekly Meetings RSS
* Email List: Cancelled Weekly Meetings (under City Hall), can subscribe at : https://my.cityofmadison.com/)
COUNTY ELECTIONS
It’s widely rumored and I keep getting asked, but no, I am not running for County Board Supervisor. I like my supervisor Barbara Vedder just fine, thank you.
