Madison City Council votes to rezone land for Kyser development
MADISON – The Madison City Council voted last night to give the final approval on a controversial project that will end up bringing over 300 new town homes to the city over the next few years.
The council voted 4-2 to change the zoning for 106 acres at the end of Kyser Boulevard from industrial to residential land.
Breland Homes is planning to build luxury townhomes at the end of Kyser Boulevard near downtown Madison. Residents who live adjacent to the property have argued against the development for months, saying it will only cause more problems for the city schools’ overpopulation problem. They have been pointing out the fact the proposed development goes against the city’s existing growth plan to help manage the fast-paced growth in Madison.
A development agreement between the city of Madison and Breland Homes, LLC was approved in June. After that, the last remaining action to give the project its green light by the city was changing the zoning.
Council members John Seifert, Steve Smith, Teddy Powell and Tommy Overcash voted to approve the rezoning.
Council members Greg Shaw and Maura Wroblewski dissented, while council member Gerald Clark abstained.
“We have worked very hard with the city staff to come up with a project we feel fits not only the land that is available, but also long-term interest and needs of the city of Madison,” Breland representative Joey Ceci said about the planned development. “These will be marketed to senior adults and young professionals. The floor plans are designed with those markets in mind. They are very open, no bonus room, no rec room. They are all one-story and are a mix of one, two and a few three bedroom units. They are very much geared towards active seniors and young adults.”
According to the agreement, there will be a maximum of 50 town home units completed per year over an 8 to 10 year period. The first ones should be ready by late 2021.
Ceci said Breland will construct a greenway that connects the Bradford Creek Greenway and Palmer Park to downtown Madison.
Madison resident Robert Kendall has been speaking to the city council against the development in several city council meetings over the past few months. He said his fear was that the price tag for the town homes is too high to realistically sell, causing Breland to possibly come back one day and change the project into apartments.
“I do not want more residents in that area because it will not help our community,” Kendall has told city council members. “Let’s talk about bringing industry into that area, which it is zoned for, that can contribute to our industrial tax base. It doesn’t bring more children to our schools and allows our schools to be prepared to accommodate the influx of residents that are going to be increased in the other development projects currently going on.”
Former Madison City school board members also spoke in opposition to the rezoning. She said that it could add to the overcrowding within the city schools.
“We just got past the property tax vote to fund new schools. Don’t we have enough money and space now? Unfortunately, no,” said resident Mike Sheehy about the rezoning. “The tax increase is an undeniable necessity. But we need to continue managing residential growth until we can develop future funding strategies.”
