New mayors setting tone for construction

By Jeremy Harrell
Daily Reporter Staff

The April 1 elections swept in a statewide tide of new mayors, with some of Wisconsin’s biggest cities getting changes in leadership. The dust hasn’t completely settled on the new political landscape, but in the state’s second and third largest cities, there could be new attitudes toward development. Edward Huck, executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, said the changes at the top weren’t surprising given a shaky economy, a war in progress and what he described as “an unsettled situation in America.” “Every once in a while, the public is in the mood for a change, and there’s nothing you campaign for or against,” he said. “It carries right down to the local level. People want change when it seems like things aren’t going right.” In Dane County, the four largest cities have new hands at the helm, with voters in Madison, Sun Prairie, Middleton and Fitchburg electing new mayors. Newcomer Dan Zwank ousted Middleton’s 26-year incumbent mayor Dan Ramsey, who oversaw a massive downtown redevelopment and a slate of new projects at the city’s fringe. Huck said this came as “a huge surprise.” But it’s in Madison where some of the biggest development changes could occur. In a narrow contest, Dave Cieslewicz, executive director of land-use group 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, beat former two-time mayor and local legend Paul Soglin, who came out of political retirement to join the race. Both men smothered incumbent Susan Bauman in a February primary. One of the biggest issues in the Madison runoff was so-called inclusionary zoning, which would set aside a certain percentage of every new residential development for low-income families. The divide between the two candidates was whether such zoning would be mandated or encouraged through volunteerism and incentives. Cieslewicz, who was unavailable for comment, has said he favors mandatory inclusionary zoning, writing in a recent newspaper column that “the best thing we can do to foster understanding and appreciation of diversity is to simply live together in the same neighborhoods.”

Smart growth

During the campaign, Cieslewicz didn’t name a target percentage for the inclusionary zoning ordinance. But it’s likely he’ll adopt a Madison City Council Housing Committee draft proposal that would set the bar at 15 percent, said Delora Newton, executive director of Smart Growth Madison, a consortium of area developers founded late last year. Like Soglin, Smart Growth Madison’s members prefer a volunteer and incentive-based program, which has so far worked for several of the group’s development firms, she said. But a mandate would be hard to work out for every single project, considering that the cost of land downtown, for instance, is “astronomical,” Newton said. “We have no problem with the concept of providing affordable housing,” she said. “But it would be really hard to put affordable units in a (downtown) development and not have the developer take a hit or have other units increase to compensate. You have to look at a project to see if it makes sense.” Newton said Smart Growth Madison’s members want to talk with the new mayor, who takes office on Tuesday, since “we’re the ones who will be providing housing.” Some incentive possibilities include density bonuses, creative fee structures, flexible setback requirements and cash awards, she said.

Green acres

In Green Bay, however, developers and the new mayor could have a better chance of seeing eye to eye. Businessman and Brown County Supervisor Jim Schmitt beat a challenger to take over the post held for years by Paul Jadin, who stepped down to head the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Though Jadin was no foe to construction projects, Schmitt said encouraging development in Green Bay was his “top priority” during the campaign, and he wants to capitalize on the opportunities afforded by the newly finished Resch Center and KI Center. “It’s what I ran on,” he said. “We’re going to build a successful downtown through development. We’re going to be more aggressive when it comes to development.” The new mayor, who takes the oath of office on Monday, said he wants to restructure the city permitting process and institute other measures that would make the city of Green Bay a willing partner for new projects. The welcome mat is out, Schmitt said. “We’re going to put the word out that if you want to form a development partnership, Green Bay is the place to be,” he said. “We want developers to feel welcome.” Jeremy Harrell can be reached at 608-260-8570 or by email.