Fiscal Note
There is no fiscal impact associated with the adoption of the plan. However, implementing specific recommendations within the plan will have fiscal impacts in the future and will require Common Council approval at that time.
Title
SUBSTITUTE - Adopting the Monroe Street Commercial District Plan and the recommendations contained therein as a supplement to the City's Comprehensive Plan.
Body
WHEREAS, in January 2004, the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association, Vilas Neighborhood Association, and the Monroe Street Merchants Association began a process to prepare a plan for the commercial districts along the Monroe Street corridor; and
WHEREAS, these groups were awarded a Neighborhood Planning Grant from the City, which was matched by funds from these organizations and private donors; and
WHEREAS, these groups retained a planning consulting firm, Planning and Design Institute, Inc. in partnership with Business Districts, Inc., to assist in the preparation of the plan; and
WHEREAS, a Steering Committee comprised of representatives of various stakeholder groups and convened by the neighborhood, worked with the consultants during the process of developing the plan, which included public meetings, meetings with City staff, stakeholder interviews, group discussion sessions with Monroe Street merchants, and a community design preference survey; and
WHEREAS, at the conclusion of this process, the Monroe Street Commercial District Plan, dated November 25, 2006, was completed and submitted to the City in February 2007 for adoption; and
WHEREAS, the Plan makes a series of recommendations concerning subjects such as: development and redevelopment, visual characteristics, environment and landscape, traffic, circulation and parking, and business district management and operation.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Monroe Street Commercial District Plan and the recommendations contained therein is hereby adopted as a supplement to the City's Comprehensive Plan; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any changes to the Comprehensive Plan's Generalized Future Land Use Plan Map recommended in the Monroe Street Commercial District Plan be considered for adoption during the next annual Comprehensive Plan evaluation and amendment process; and
BE IT FURTHER FINALLY RESOLVED that the appropriate City agencies consider including the recommendations of the Monroe Street Commercial District Plan in future work plans and budgets.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Planning Division is directed to make the following changes to the final document:
1. Planning Division staff, in consultation with neighborhood representatives, and the approval of the Plan Commission Chair, be permitted to make minor revisions to the final document, including format changes, to update, correct typographical errors, and clarify but not substantively alter specific recommendations.
2. The definitions related to what constitutes a story are revised to be consistent with those in the Zoning Ordinance.
3. The Plan be clarified that the recommended standards, particularly relating to building height, express the neighborhood's expectations, but are not considered absolutes in all cases.
4. The process for establishing an Urban Design District be programmed into a future annual Planning Division workplan, upon request by the Monroe Street Merchants Association and the alders representing this corridor.
5. Identify a "special crossing" of Monroe Street at Wingra School.
6. That the range of building heights recommended in the Plan be expanded to include and permit four-story buildings with the understanding that lot size, proximity to other building forms, setbacks, step-backs, and floor to floor height shall all be considered when reviewing the redevelopment of properties on Monroe Street.