So, not only has Smart Growth Madison, Inc. a lobbyist group for Madison developers changed their staff from Delora Newton (who now works for the Chamber of Commerce as their lobbyist) to Carole Schaeffer (who was a legislative staffer at the Capitol*) – they also are changing their tune about Inclusionary Zoning.
I had the pleasure of meeting the new staff person, Carole Schaeffer yesterday. I have to admit, when she asked to meet with me, my response was:
Why? I didn’t think Smart Growth Madison was interested in talking . . . no
offense, but it hasn’t been the friendliest group lately.
I was surprised when she responded:
Moving forward, considering that this ordinance so closely affects both the people you represent and the development community that would provide this housing; I am hoping that we can be a part of the dialogue.
So, we met. Apparently, they agree, repeal isn’t going to happen. (They previously had supported repeal and took their ball and went home with the Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, Apartment Association and others.) They also think that now that the mayor has a work group that they would like to participate in those informal discussions.
Sigh . . . so I couldn’t let that go. What is it with these lobbyists groups that think that they deserve a “special process”? First the Realtors, now Smart Growth. Apparently, they somehow think they are entitled to better process than the rest of the public. Or maybe it’s not that the process is “better” but it is “special”. How long are we going to continue to cater to the business community and give them special processes? Why can’t they go to the committees and testify and participate the way everyone else does? If the process is so bad, why don’t they come up with suggested changes so everyone can be treated the same way? Ah . . . but I digress . . . and they’re not going to be part of the solution anyways . . . they’d rather fight against things than come up with their own ideas.
Anyways, I asked if they could make a list of the things that they see as major issues with the IZ ordinance. Since we’re still waiting for Phil Salkin from the Realtors to write that letter for the plan commission that he promised over a month ago, I thought I’d try another lobbyist group. She did say that she thought the two top issues for her group were the marketing period and incentives, but obviously, she has to talk with her members.
So, another group agrees to participate, only 4 months after the ordinance changes were introduced, they finally want to talk about them . . . will the Builders be next? Apartment Association? Individual developers?
Meanwhile, partially because Zach’s equity model is terrible and partially because the time that the marketing period needs to be fixed and partially because we need to find a way to make sure that the developers are marketing their units in good faith, we have lost units that would have been inclusionary zoning units. Was this part of the plan, are they just stalling? And will they continue to stall and drag out the “mayor’s special process” while we lose more units? Or will they come to the table in good faith and make the changes happen quickly? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, this is about to get interesting.
* Here’s the full announcement regarding the staff change at Smart Growth Madison Inc.
Smart Growth Madison, Inc. (SGM) is pleased to announce that Carole Schaeffer has joined the organization as the new Executive Director. (You’ll recall that in agreement with the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber hired Delora Newton to fill the open position left by Henry Sanders who left to head up MAGNET.)
Carole, a graduate of LaFollette School of Public Administration, comes to SGM from the Wisconsin State Senate, where she served as a staffer to a member of the Joint Finance Committee. Subsequent to this role, Carole spent three years as a budget and policy analyst for the Governor’s State Budget Office. Her other experience includes being an analyst for the Legislative Reference Bureau and a research assistant for the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task for on State Local Partnerships for the 21st Century.
Carole has had experience working with ‘both sides of the aisle’ and in fact, came recommended to SGM by a prominent local Democrat.
Carole looks forward to the opportunities offered by this new position. She is planning to meet and work with each of you in the next few weeks to ensure the continued dialogue and involvement on issues of importance to economic development industry. Please join SGM in welcoming Carole to her new role.
Carole can be reached at cschaeffer@smartgrowthmadison.com or (608) 663-2005. In the interim her office will remain at 2810 Crossroads Drive on the east side, but this spring we anticipate Carole will have a new office located downtown.
-Terrence
Terrence R. Wall, President
Smart Growth Madison
608-663-7651
cell 345-0701
twall@twallproperties.com
