Fiscal Note
City costs associated with urban development and the provision of urban services in this area will be included in future operating and capital budgets subject to Common Council approval.
Title
Amending the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan to revise the land use recommendations for lands located within and adjacent to the Grandview Commons Neighborhood Center Mixed Use District.
Body
WHEREAS the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan was adopted by the Madison Common Council on January 20, 1998; and
WHEREAS the Neighborhood Development Plan as adopted proposed the creation of a neighborhood commercial center at the southern end of the proposed north-south collector street serving the western half of the neighborhood, at its intersection with Cottage Grove Road; and
WHEREAS the land use recommendations for this Southwest (Town Center) Neighborhood Commercial Center emphasized the creation of an integrated neighborhood business district as distinct from an aggregation of separated business sites, mixed-use development with office or residential uses above retail uses, multi-story buildings located close to the sidewalk with parking to the rear or on side streets rather than in front of the businesses, short-term parking on business streets, minimum gaps in the street-level retail frontage, high levels of pedestrian amenities, and good linkages to the surrounding residential neighborhood; and
WHEREAS the land use and design recommendations for the Southwest Town Center described in the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan were substantially reflected in the development concept, zoning text and design standards established for the Neighborhood Center Mixed Use district component of the Grandview Commons General Development Plan as initially approved in February 2002, and further refined and detailed though subsequent Specific Implementation Plan approvals and General Development Plan revisions; and
WHEREAS the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan narrative discusses the relatively smaller scale and size of businesses proposed for the Southwest Neighborhood Commercial Center and specifically notes that it would be difficult for large businesses or uses requiring extensive parking to be compatible with the special urban design character of the district and the compact, pedestrian-oriented town center development concept; and
WHEREAS the General Development Plan zoning for the Grandview Commons Neighborhood Center Mixed Use district includes limits on the total amount of commercial development and on the maximum size of individual business establishments that generally reflect the recommendations for relatively small-scale development in the Neighborhood Development Plan; and
WHEREAS after more than ten years of effort, Veridian Homes, the developer of Grandview Commons, has concluded that future development of a wider array of smaller-scale neighborhood-serving businesses in the Neighborhood Center Mixed Use district will only be possible if the district is anchored by a large grocery store that can provide a full range of convenience goods to neighborhood residents and also make the district an attractive retail shopping destination for a wider market area; and
WHEREAS Rollie Winter & Associates has proposed the development of a 58,000 square foot grocery store as a free-standing establishment on lands adjacent to the Neighborhood Center that are currently recommended for Institutional uses and Low-Density Residential uses in the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan, and for Medium Density and Low Density Residential uses in the City of Madison Comprehensive Plan; and
WHEREAS an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and to the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan would be required for the proposed large grocery store use to be consistent with the land use recommendations in those plans; and
WHEREAS an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan to accommodate the proposed grocery store use was requested by Veridian Homes as part of the 2010-2011 Comprehensive Plan review process, and an amendment has been prepared by Planning Division staff for evaluation and consideration concurrently with the corresponding proposed amendment to the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan and the application for a revision to the Grandview Commons General Development Plan; and
WHEREAS an amendment to the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan has been prepared to expand the Mixed Use Commercial/Residential use area eastward to encompass additional lands currently designated for Institutional and Low-Density Residential uses, to re-designate the balance of the current Institutional use area for Low-Density Residential uses, to designate the proposed public library site for Institutional uses, to revise the recommendations for the Mixed-Use Commercial/Residential area to allow the potential development of a large anchor grocery store as part of an integrated mixed-use center with specified characteristics, and to make other related modifications to the recommended land use and street plan for this portion of the neighborhood; and
WHEREAS the proposed Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan amendment was circulated to City agencies for their review; and
WHEREAS a public meeting was held in the neighborhood to present information, answer questions and hear comments on the proposed Neighborhood Development Plan amendment; and
WHEREAS written comments received on the proposed Neighborhood Development Plan amendment were compiled and provided to the Plan Commission and Common Council for consideration.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Sprecher Neighborhood Development Plan, a supplement to the City of Madison Comprehensive Plan, is hereby amended to revise the land use recommendations for lands located within and adjacent to the Grandview Commons Neighborhood Center Mixed Use district, as illustrated and described in the amended Land Use and Street Plan map and plan narrative.