Neighborhood Design Center, Inc.

The City of Madison is in the process of rewriting its zoning code. The new zoning code will set the rules and procedures for the uses (residential, commercial, etc.) and form (building height, placement on lot, densities, parking standards, etc.) of private property in the City. As such it has significant implications for sustainability.

The process started in January and goes through 2009. This year the focus is on the code language, next year the zoning map. A range of new districts have been proposed in an “Annotated Outline” document. The Outline also includes a section on “Principles of Sustainability.” Download these pages here. The treatment of sustainability is pretty general at this point.

The consultants hired by the City to prepare the new code have heard from some City staff and officials that the code should reflect the City’s adoption of The Natural Step framework; and some Advisory Committee members have raised the importance of sustainability. But the opportunity to make the code go farther in promoting sustainable urban environments are:

Submit comments on the City website. If you submit comments, they will be forwarded to members of the Zoning Code Rewrite Advisory Commitee (ZCRAC), and you will receive notices and updates about the process.

Attend ZCRAC meetings and give public comment. ZCRAC formed subgroups to address other issues as a result of consistent public input. Ongoing input about sustainability could lead to a sustainability subgroup. Such a subgroup could provide direct recommendations to the process.

Attend the Community Forums.