A Dane County judge has ruled that Madison’s approval of a controversial development under construction on the city’s west side does not comply with city parking ordinances, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The $7 million project, located at 3722 Speedway Road, is almost three-fourths complete, and city officials aren’t sure what the ruling will mean for the project.
The four-story housing and commercial project near Glenway Golf Park offers underground parking, but according to the court’s ruling, ordinances require parking to be at the rear or side of “commercial block” buildings like it.
The Plan Commission unanimously approved a Conditional Use Permit for the redevelopment in March 2022. The project is set to include 31 apartments, 816 square feet of commercial space, and 24 underground parking spaces in a spot formerly occupied by a Stop-N-Go.
Some neighbors appealed the commission’s decision to the City Council, opposing the project’s elimination of the former commercial use and arguing it was too tall for its setting, had the potential to cause traffic safety hazards, and more. The council in May 2022 voted 17–0 with two abstentions to uphold the commission’s decision.
Five residents also filed a challenge in Dane County Circuit Court, contending the city made a mistake in allowing the project to exceed the maximum number of housing units as it is not a functional “mixed-use” building envisioned by ordinance; failed to enforce a zoning requirement for commercial block buildings to locate parking behind or on the side of the structure; failed to enforce a rule prohibiting blank walls facing a public street; and failed to enforce a zoning regulation requiring commercial storefront for a minimum 40% of the facade.
