Fiscal Note
No additional City appropriation is required with the adoption of the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan. The recommendations and action steps presented in the plan do not include cost estimates. City costs associated with implementing recommendations within the plan will be included in future capital and operating budgets, subject to Common Council approval.
Title
Adopting the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan (District 4, District 13, District 14)
Body
WHEREAS, for thousands of years prior to European settlement, the four lakes region was home to first peoples and their cultures; and
WHEREAS, during the nineteenth century, Europeans forcibly removed first peoples from Wisconsin and the four lakes region; and
WHEREAS, in 1836, the City of Madison was designated the Wisconsin State Capital, in part due to its unique setting on an isthmus between Lakes Monona and Mendota; and
WHEREAS, in 1909, John Nolen prepared his seminal plan Madison: A Model City that envisioned a waterfront esplanade connecting the city to the shore of Lake Monona; and
WHEREAS, throughout the twentieth century, Nolen’s plan and other public lakeshore proposals failed to be realized due to the pressure of transportation and infrastructure development; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, through the advocacy work of local design professionals and support of public representatives, the Madison Down Plan recommended the creation of a signature waterfront park along the shore of the Lake Monona, and
WHEREAS, the Parks and Open Space Plan (2018) included nine strategies for system-wide park development, and improving public access to the lakes was a key recommendation based on the report’s Outdoor Recreational Needs Assessment; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the Parks Division initiated a pre-design study (Preliminary Report) focused on initial community outreach and engagement to identify the goals and priorities for future Lake Monona lake shore improvements; and
WHEREAS, the Preliminary Report was completed in 2021, and the outcomes of the public engagement work served as the basis for the planning initiative’s guiding principles; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, the Common Council authorized a multi-phase planning process to develop a master plan for Law Park, the John Nolen Drive causeway, and northern portion of Olin Park (Legislative file#68974); and
WHEREAS, the Common Council approved holding a design competition for the Lake Monona Waterfront planning initiative; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council authorized the formation of a thirteen-member ad-hoc committee to guide master plan development (Legislative file#68974); and
WHEREAS, the City issued a Request for Qualifications for professional planning team submissions to participate in the Lake Monona Waterfront Design Challenge (the Design Challenge); and
WHEREAS, the central goals of the Design Challenge were to create a welcoming destination for all Madison residents and visitors, enhance community connections to the lake shore, improve the lake’s water quality and aquatic habitat, and preserve Lake Monona’s cultural history from the indigenous peoples to the present day; and
WHEREAS, the LMW Committee selected three professional consultant teams to participate in the Design Challenge; and
WHEREAS, the Design Challenge required teams to present their master plan concepts during three, large-scale public events, with the City releasing a corresponding public survey to gather community input on the team submissions; and
WHEREAS, over 2,400 completed surveys and 400 written comments were received; and
WHEREAS, the Committee evaluated the plan submissions, public comments, and each team’s performance during the Design Challenge; and
WHEREAS, based on the Committee’s evaluation scoring, the City contracted with the Sasaki Associates to proceed with master plan refinement (Legislative file#68974); and
WHEREAS, in addition to the Preliminary Report and Design Challenge public engagement, the City held multiple stakeholder input sessions during the Master Plan Refinement phase; and
WHEREAS, the Committee encouraged and supported further public comment and input during their deliberations on plan changes; and
WHEREAS, upon completion of the draft master plan and report, the Committee unanimously approved the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan for submission to the Common Council; and
WHEREAS, the Lake Monona Waterfront Plan (the Plan) establishes a framework to achieve the vision and objectives identified through public engagement during in the Preliminary Report, Design Challenge, and Master Plan Refinement processes; and
WHEREAS, the Plan allows for and supports a diverse range of community waterfront amenities and features; and
WHEREAS, the Plan seeks to improve and enhance, biodiversity, wildlife and aquatic habitat within the planning area; and
WHEREAS, the Plan realizes the community goals of creating a visionary, inclusive and environmentally, focused master plan to guide future waterfront development along the shore of Lake Monona; and
WHEREAS, the Plan allows the Parks Division to pursue outside funding resources to support of future plan implementation; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council does hereby adopt the Lake Monona Waterfront Master Plan, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Common Council directs the Parks Division to begin the first phase of plan implementation as identified in the 2024 Capital Budget, and to pursue outside funding resources to the extent possible to realize the vision set by the Plan.