Zoning, Land Use and Redevelopment

Restore and Preserve Residential Character (7 dots)

Increase Owner Occupancy and Long-Term Rental (5 dots)

Plan for Redevelopment of East Washington Corridor (1 dot)

Plan for Growth of East Johnson Street Business District

Affordable Family Housing (3 dots)

I am very in favor of the conservation district idea!

Amen!

Yea!

Keep park space (no parking lot) west of Fiore Shopping Center; no train

station

Keep in mind that affordable family housing for many means creating

better rental options for families

New housing development needs to be more family housing (4 stars)

No semi-truck parking (3 stars)

No semi-truck access to residential streets (1400 block of East Dayton)

As residential density increases along E. Wash, be sure adjacent back

yards are not used as parking lots.

Preserve the present scale of structures

Preserve present amount of green space (i.e., large back yards).

Transportation

Reduce Arterial Use of E. Johnson and Gorham – Align with Residential

Character (6 stars)

Introduce Transit Alternatives (1 star)

Make Bicycle Travel Easier (5 stars)

Safe Walkways for Our Children to Trek to School (5 stars)

Traffic calming on streets between Johnson and E. Washington (2 stars)

Expand Johnson/Gorham Bike Lanes or put bikes on E. Dayton and Slow

the Cars (like Stop Signs for Vehicles Only) (6 stars)

I live here. We must slow it down – many dead pets & accidents

Avoid incompatible use – commercial delivery routes should not be along

bike paths, i.e., 1400 block east Dayton bike path and semi-delivery

route for Great Big Pictures

Great need for bicycle commuter lane to downtown separated from

vehicle traffic.

East Johnson Business District

Support Parking Near Business District (1 star)

Encourage Expansion in 700, 800, & 900 blocks (1 star)

Improve visual appearance (2 stars)

Support and encourage group biz promotions – an annual biz district

fair/block party for families (2 stars)

Each business has their own character – don’t make them change

Critical need for pocket parking lot; enter on E. Johnson, exit on Paterson

(3 stars)

Slow it down so people can safely park and patronize (4 stars)

Apple pie (lots more) (1 star)

Parks

Revise Master Plan (1 star)

Reserve Historical Character (1 star)

Balance of Passive & Active Recreation

Protect Parks from Paving (2 stars)

Incorporate Public Art (2 stars)

Enhance Access to and Use of Lake and River (1 star)

Gobble up green space around parks if/as it becomes available.

Would like to see additional park space include some allocation of space

for landscaping (e.g., trees, shrubs, prairie grasses – something

pleasant for walking) – not just additional playing field grass.

Housing

More Frequent City Inspections (2 stars)

Preserve Historic Character of Neighborhood

Enhance Character of Streets and Sidewalks

Animal control agents? – we need many more, please; reasonable

disposal facilities for waste

Enforce ordinances regarding pet control (cats roaming neighborhood)

Community Enhancement

Use Lapham School as Focal Point for Neighborhood Activities (2 stars)

Promote More Neighborhood Interaction (2 stars)

Pressure school district to lower fees for Lapham rental space

Night education at site

More activities “in the open” for people to see (1 star): a) stucco theater,

b) annual flea market, c) dramatics for adults and children

The following are comments received via e-mail after the meeting:

Comments from Person 1

*Zoning, Land Use and Redevelopment *

My Priorities

Goal 1 - Restore and preserve the residential character

Goal 2 - Encourage owner-occupied housing and decrease absentee landlords

Goal 8 - Plan for growth of the East Johnson

Goal 4 - Plan redevelopment of the 800 block of East Washington

*Note - I believe that the recommendations included in Goal 7 encouraging redevelopment of the 1400 block of East Mifflin are in opposition to the overall goal of restoring and preserving the residential character of the neighborhood and internally inconsistent.  Encouraging Neighborhood Mixed Use in this area will only increase pressure for more non-residential development in areas other than East Washington and the business district of East Johnson.  And I believe it is foolish to think that you can "keep commercial truck traffic off of Mifflin and Dayton streets" if you allow businesses on Mifflin, Dickinson, and Dayton streets.*

*Transportation*

My Priorities

Goal 1 - Reduce the arterial use

Goal 3 - Encourage bicycle transportation

*Note - I feel that instead of working for alternatives such as streetcars and more parking at the intersection of Highways 151 and 113 as proposed in Goal 2, I think we should commit to making our current bus system better. *

*East Johnson Business District*

My Priorities

Goal 1 - Support parking

Goal 3 - Improve the visual appearance, accessibility and ambiance of the district

Goal 2 - Encourage more businesses in the 700, 800 and 900 blocks of E. Johnson Street

*Parks and Open Space*

My Priorities

Goal 2 - Preserve the historic character of parks

Goal 4 - Protect parks and green spaces from encroachment

Goal 3 - Provide for a balance of passive and active recreational activities

*Note - focus on activities related to the lake and the river! I think that you achieve Goal 5 - Ensuring safety in the parks - through Goal 3 by increasing the use of the parks by neighborhood residents.*

Goal 1 - Reassess and revise park master plans

*Housing and Infrastructure*

My Priorities

Goal 3 - Enhance the character, beauty and safety of streets and sidewalks

*My Highest Priority - burying the power and telephone lines so we don't have to mutilate the trees.*

Goal 1 - Obtain more frequent city inspection

Goal 2 -  Preserve and accentuate the historic character

Community Enhancement

My Priorities

Goal 1 - Use Lapham School for neighborhood activities *Note - even during school hours if feasible to foster neighborhood

interaction.*

Goal 2 - Promote more neighborhood interaction, mutual support and sense of

community

Comments from Person 2

I attended the town hall meeting on December 2. Here is how I prioritize the goals in the neighborhood plan.

(As an aside, map 4 is very hard to understand, especially the boundaries of the historical districts and proposed conservation district(s). It would be helpful to have street names on the map. It would also be helpful to display the proposed conservation district on a separate map.)

Priorities in my order:

1)    Zoning, Land Use, Redevelopment (prioritize zoning with some modifications to proposed plan)

2)   Transportation (rezoning of E Johnson and Gorham)

3)    Housing & Infrastructure (prioritize efforts to stimulate home ownership and more rigorous inspection of rental housing)

4)    Parks & Open Space (preserve existing space--land behind Lincoln School etc)

5)    Community Development

6)    E Johnson Business District

Priorities within each goal:

1) Zoning, Land Use, Redevelopment

Prioritize setting building height and setback requirements and density guidelines.

I like the idea of a conservation district but do not support it in its current form. I believe residential on-street parking devalues our neighborhood, increases hazards and street and gutter waste, and discourages long-term residence. I would support development that provides 2 off-street parking units for a larger residential units (for instance 3 bdrm). I believe guidelines can be set for minimal requirements for adding parking/garages to property, such as maintaining a given amount of green space, or using concrete/asphalt in place of gravel. I do support on-street parking for customers of E. Johnson businesses.

I agree with concerns expressed at the meeting on the economic impact of the proposed conservation district. I would support greater flexibility, for instance allowing a maximum of 4 (or a reasonable number) of adjoining properties in one block to be replaced with a single structure, condos or apartments, with the stated height and density requirements. I would also support a given percentage of a block (say 25 to 35%) being replaced with an integrated new development project. I support renovation but recognize that it is prohibitively expensive especially without grants or outside support. Renovation either puts the burden on current home-owners or on prospective buyers and could potentially drive property values up too high, too quickly. I would rather see some of the extremely poor housing replaced with new development with inclusionary zoning to provide long-term homes to people who will maintain them. I would like to see more projects such as the Couchyard Square, done in conjunction with Movin' Out.

I strongly oppose a parking ramp on Don Miller site. This would introduce more traffic to N. Paterson which is residential and should remain so. N. Paterson already has a heavy traffic flow from truck deliveries to E. Johnson, emergency and police vehicles, etc. Please remember that the 200 and 300 blocks of N Paterson are residential.

2)     Transportation

Rezoning and rerouting E. Johnson/Gorham traffic -- top priority.

I do not support narrowing lanes to the minimum allowed by code. Would this be similar to what has been done in Maple Bluff? Such narrow lanes leave no margin for error if a pedestrian is walking on the street. Also problems arise when snow plows go through. Can emergency vehicles get through on such narrow lanes?

I do not support raised cross walks/pedestrian crossing. Snow plows eat these up and they are not friendly to bikes.

I would like to see more on calming traffic on N-S roads, especially N Paterson (since I live there). Traffic is loud, fast and heavy. The Dayton/Paterson intersection is frequently used as a roundabout. Trucks use the street to make deliveries to E. Johnson businesses and to get to Gorham.

3)    Housing & Infrastructure

I support more rigorous inspection of housing stock and believe that findings should be public, if they are not already. Exterior inspection is completely inadequate.

The action steps for increasing home ownership in the area and decreasing absentee landlords seem insufficient. I would prioritize working with HUD, Madison Land Trust, Movin' Out and developers who are community-minded and will build for a reasonable profit (vs gross profits producing luxury units sold at exorbitant prices). Greater public/city pressure should be put on landlords. I would like to see zoning that prohibits 2-3 flats because even though these are popular, they just don't seem to work well in the long-run.

4)    Parks, Open Space

Not a priority item, but I am concerned about what I read in the Isthmus about the city planning to sell the land behind the Lincoln School and the Collins House. Every effort should be made to maintain appropriate use of this land and to maintain the investment that ULI has made in Lincoln School.

Would really like to see more benches in Reynold Park.

5)    Community Development

No comments

6)    Business District

I believe the need for increased parking for E Johnson businesses is grossly overstated. I try to support locally owned businesses and local producers and manufacturers as much as possible. E Johnson has a handful of businesses, all of which are very small in scale and can physically accommodate only 10s of customers at a time. Customers currently enjoy free (no meter) parking. I rarely see all parking spots used (weekdays, morning-afternoon-evening, and weekends). The majority of the businesses serve either a very specific market or primarily local consumers (pretty much every neighborhood has its own alcohol store, coffee shop, convenience store etc). There is no shortage of retail and commercial space available on Fordem, N. Sherman, Williamson Street if businesses feel that they are losing money...I believe if the businesses feel they need more parking, they should pay for it themselves and that it should not be provided by city funds. Again, I have nothing against the businesses and try to support them, but I would prefer to see city money spent elsewhere than on parking for a very small, very limited area.

Miscellaneous comments--

Is it necessary to get to detail such as encouraging front porches? My experience is that a lot of strangers use my front porch and stoop to hang out, smoke, drink, and eat. I really hate this. I have done extensive landscaping to try to deter this kind of activity but it continues (at least I don't have drunks passing out on the hedge as they used to do).

Planting tall trees--this is trivial, but I would prefer to see smaller scale trees along the streets. Tall (30'+) trees are great in open areas and parks. Not so great along streets where they drop a lot of leaves and debris, get hit by passing trucks, and provide squirrels an easy route to roof tops.

Comments from Person 3

Here is my feedback on the items from the proposed Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood Plan about which I felt most strongly.  Thank you for the opportunity to comment!

*ZONING, LAND USE, AND REDEVLOPMENT*

Goal 1:

Agree strongly with replacement of "cobra" style streetlamps, prohibiting backyard parking lots, and prohibiting street-facing garages. Agree with encouragement of front porches Strongly disagree with the requirement that replacement structures must have same footprint or smaller.  I do not think residential structures should be built out to the edges of a lot, but the footprint requirement seems too prescriptive and may inhibit many potential good design ideas for a new structure on a property. Would like to know more about the particulars of a Conservation District before supporting or opposing such a measure.  I believe that the neighborhood can and should retain its character without being embalmed.  Flexibility should be available for remodeling or reconstruction of homes.

Goal 2:

Would like to see greater clarification as to how the Neighborhood Association would be involved in promotion of first time homebuyer mortgage programs.  I agree these are good things, but it isn't clear as to the Neighborhood Association's role in these programs. Keeping the neighborhood affordable for young families and middle-income earners should be looked at more closely.  This issue should be addressed in much more detail.  Would like to see the Neighborhood Association take a very active role in working on solutions for affordable housing issues that will keep the neighborhood open to a variety of people.  I am concerned that conversion of rentals to owner-occupied housing, while generally positive, may end up crowding out low or middle-income earners and young families who cannot afford home ownership in the neighborhood and have to move away. Agree that long-term rentals should be encouraged.  Would like to have seen more discussion as to how that would be accomplished.  Would like to know what is considered the definition of a "long-term" rental.

Goal 3:

I believe higher building height limits along E. Washington Ave. are acceptable.  Up to 10 stories could be allowed for certain areas (the area fronting Curtis Court is an exception), with step-backs down to 3-4 stories along E Mifflin.  I would not want to see E. Wash lined with 10 story buildings.  However, there should be greater flexibility allowed for the creation of any particular development.  Instead of having a blanket restriction, I believe it is better to evaluate each proposal on its own individual merits. Agree that "big-box" developments are not appropriate for E Wash corridor. I do not want to see additional surface parking.  However, to attract new employers to the E Wash corridor, allowing for parking in some way is unavoidable.  We should be mindful of employers' parking needs while minimizing, the use of surface parking lots. The plan discusses minimizing traffic within the neighborhood, but also suggests a library, museum, or community space along E Mifflin.  Any of these uses will bring traffic to that location!

Goal 7:

Residential development in this area should encourage the use of incentives for the kind of housing that is affordable for qualified low and middle-income earners. This area may be a good place to support the location of a library branch.

Goal 8:

I strongly support the steps proposed for goal 8

*TRANSPORTATION*

Goal 1:

I would like to see additional stoplights proposed along Gorham and Johnson to allow for easier crossings for pedestrians and keep traffic speeds down (e.g. a light at Few and Gorham) Goal 2:  Transit options will need to address linkages to the University, since Johnson and Gorham streets provide the most direct route to the University from the east.  These links need to be easy and fast for commuters-convenience is key, or people will not get out of their cars.  Without convenient transit alternatives, it's hard to see a sufficient number of car users changing their habits.  And, simply routing all traffic on to E. Washington Ave is not a reasonable alternative.  Then we are just playing a shell game as traffic will jam up the Avenue and negatively affect that part of the neighborhood.

Goal 3:

Strongly support removing bike lane interruptions and encouraging better, safer linkages with other city bike routes.

*EAST JOHNSON BUSINESS DISTRICT*

The action steps for each of the goals are great ideas and should be enacted

**** *PARKS AND OPEN SPACE*

Goal 1:

I would like to see both action steps acted on-James Madison park in particular could use more maintenance. In addition, what kinds of opportunities are possible for the neighborhood to work with the city in providing upkeep and possible improvements to the parks?

Goal 2:

These action steps are laudable, but considering the Parks Department's budget situation, it may be difficult to for all of these things to be accomplished.  Could the neighborhood provide assistance in maintenance and upkeep?  This work could be done as neighborhood workdays, letting neighbors work together and get to know each other better.

Goal 3:

In addition to the action steps listed, I'd like to see the basketball surfaces repaired in both Taney and James Madison parks.  They both have spots in very poor condition.

Goal 5:

I would like to see a visible, yet non-intrusive police presence in the parks, such as an officer or two walking a beat periodically.  This should be encouraged over simply driving squad cars through the parks' parking lots.

While vagrancy should be discouraged, I do not want to see our parks turned into oversized lawns.  I would like to see trees and shrubs remain in some parts of our parks.

*HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE*

Goal 2:

Agree strongly with streetlamp replacement

Goal 3:

Strongly support encouraging rapid clean up of graffiti, debris, and rubbish.  I would also like to see rapid repair of damaged bus shelter glass.

*NEIGHBORHOOD GOALS*

Goal 2:

Neighborhood workdays (e.g. for parks clean up) or establishing neighborhood gardens may also promote community and neighborhood interaction.

Comments from Person 4

I know it's late but I just learned a lot at the recent East Area Task Force forum on Tuesday that applies to the neighborhood plan.

I learned there is an important distinction between affordable housing and affordable housing for families, the same also applies to low-income housing.  The forum also clarified for me the relationship between affordable family housing and the quality of the public education system.

I'd like to recommend specifying a percentage of affordable (low-income) family housing in the summary issues #8-10 (or add a new one), and add a new goal (or modify others) 'a {x?} percentage of affordable/low-income family housing to ensure enrollment that supports local elementary schools.' I believe this is critical to support the 'Education' special feature of the neighborhood and the city in general.