The Madison Common Council met Tuesday evening, acting on proposals concerning new buildings, the keg ordinance and business regulations for churches.
The council approved a six-story building at 202 N. Charter Street, the site of a former Milan's sub shop. Trio Development will build the complex, which includes 25 apartment units and a first floor dedicated to retail space. According to Bryce Armstrong of Trio Development, the building will contain primarily upscale apartments. Armstrong said the building will target both undergraduate and graduate students.
Ald. Austin King, District 8, was pleased with the approval of the building.
'This area, the south campus between Regent [Street] and University Avenue, has a lot of needs; it has a lot of run down, dilapidated and uncared-for areas,' King said. 'I am excited to see some private investment in that part of town.'
UW-Madison sophomore Brock Reed, who lives in the area where the building will be built, was also optimistic.
'As long as the new building doesn't look horrible, it will be an improvement,' Reed said. 'Anything is better than the tease of an abandoned sub shop.'
However, the council rejected a plan for another proposed apartment building at 425 W. Washington Ave. The building met with objections from the Urban Design Commission, which initially rejected the proposal in October. Critics pointed particularly to the project's nonconformance with the Basset Neighborhood Master Plan.
The building would have had eight stories'four stories of apartments, a fitness center, medical offices and retail space. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, whose district includes the 400 block of West Washington, agreed with the decision to reject the plan for the building. He said the project was not altogether bad, but that is was far too large for the proposed site.
A proposal allowing churches to operate outdoor vending and restaurants was also approved by the council. The ordinance clears up a technicality that made certain food service operations within churches illegal, namely the Catacombs Coffeehouse on Library Mall. 'Technically, they were not in compliance with code,' King said.
The council also discussed the keg registration bill, which has attracted significant attention in recent weeks. The ordinance, proposed by Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9, was sent back to the Public Safety Review Board for further discussion. Opponents of the bill have criticized it as an attack on personal freedoms.
