West Area, Northeast Area Plans pass Common Council; work on Southwest, Southeast Area Plans begins this fall

The City of Madison Common Council approved the first two Area Plans under the City's new Planning Framework - the West Area Plan and the Northeast Area Plan - Tuesday night with few changes beyond what had already been proposed by City boards, committees, and commissions.

The West Area Plan with those previous changes -- including changing the phrasing for a potential east-west bike path in the Sauk Creek Greenway from "use detailed engineering data to design an All Ages and Abilities shared-use path" to "use detailed engineering data to consider the impacts and benefits of adding an All Ages and Abilities shared-use path" -- passed the Council with a unanimous vote.

The Northeast Area Plan passed with an amendment to remove a recommendation to "preserve the opportunity to extend and connect Nakoosa Trail through Sycamore Park in the future."

Other previous changes proposed by City boards, committees and commissions were ultimately accepted by the Common Council.

City staff will incorporate these final changes into both plans and publish them as part of the City's Comprehensive Plan. Based on the Planning Framework schedule, Area Plans will be revisited each decade for potential updates.

Work on the next two Area Plans, the Southwest Area and the Southeast Area, will begin this fall after the Common Council authorizes them to begin. City staff have already begun the process of reaching out to community stakeholders to lay the groundwork for the next set of plans, and the City will have more information on the first public engagement events for the Southwest Area and Southeast Area Plans in the coming weeks.

You can find maps of the next planning areas and sign up for e-mail updates on the plans by going to the respective websites for the Southwest Area and the Southeast Area Plans.