Potter Lawson
The proposed development would add 144 housing units in Madison's west side.
A Dane County judge ruled Tuesday that Madison’s city council used “immaterial” criteria when rezoning two west-side properties to make way for a 144-unit housing development on Old Sauk Road, potentially halting progress on a controversial apartment complex.
For the project from Stone House Development to move forward, alders must again rezone the properties in alignment with the criteria specified in the city’s comprehensive plan. In her ruling, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford wrote the city council “failed to consider the factors required” by the plan.
Transcripts from the June 18, 2024, meeting where the council approved the rezoning, Lanford wrote, show that alders did not sufficiently consider relationships between buildings and their “surroundings, natural features, lot and block characteristics,” nor “access to urban services, transit, arterial streets, parks and amenities” to determine if increased residential density was appropriate.
“The City’s failure to do so was unlawful because every Wisconsin city and village must make zoning decisions ‘consistent with that local governmental unit’s comprehensive plan,’” Lanford added.
Lanford has also scheduled a hearing Monday, June 9, to address the petitioners’ request for a temporary injunction to “prohibit the City from issuing any permits and to suspend any permits already issued for the properties,” City Attorney Michael Haas says in an email.
Some west-side residents organized against the Old Sauk proposal prior to its approval, arguing it would increase traffic danger, hamper stormwater management and add inappropriate density to a neighborhood primarily composed of single-family homes. They submitted a petition opposing the redevelopment and hired a civil engineer to study potential stormwater effects from the proposal.
After rezoning was approved, four plaintiffs who live near the proposed building filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s decision in July.
Lanford’s decision marks a victory — if a potentially temporary one — for those residents and a setback for a city looking to add denser housing in the face of a citywide housing crisis. Adding density on Madison’s west side has been a lightning rod issue: in March 2024, angry residents shouted down city staff presenting a draft of the West Area Plan, which suggested rezoning for denser housing in some parts of the area.
Ald. Will Ochowicz, founder of pro-density group Madison is for People, is still optimistic that the proposal will go through.
“If it's just remanding to consider additional criteria, that doesn’t seem like it would be very difficult to do,” says Ochowicz. “And I don't think the outcome will be different.”
Lanford’s decision requires the council to “articulate the reasons for its decision and take another vote,” Haas says. It has not yet been decided when the issue will be placed on the council’s agenda, he adds.
Demolition for the property may continue regardless of the zoning, Haas says. A building permit has not been issued for the property and may only be issued after rezoning is approved, he adds.
[Editor's note: This article has been updated to add a quote from Ald. Will Ochowicz.]
