A 138-unit apartment building planned for Madison’s west side has been approved by the City Council for the second time, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. The news comes after Dane County Judge Rhonda Lanford sent the decision back to the city following some nearby residents’ outcry and a lawsuit challenging the site’s rezoning last summer.
Objections to the proposed three-story development at 6610-6706 Old Sauk Road stem from concerns that it would look out of place in the neighborhood, worsen traffic and increase the area’s risk of flooding.
Lanford earlier this month ruled that the council failed to determine whether the rezoning was consistent with Madison’s comprehensive plan as state law requires. She directed the council to reconsider the rezoning accordingly, and it once again voted to rezone the property, this time with a 16-4 vote.
The project’s conditional use permit is the subject of a separate, ongoing lawsuit. Its validity was contingent on the rezoning, so with the site now rezoned, the conditional use permit is back in effect. The city will continue its standard administrative review process for the project, pending any impact on permits by a future court ruling.
The development site has been largely cleared, and work by Stone House Development and New Madison Development is currently underway, allowed by their demolition permit from the city, which the lawsuits have not affected.
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