Madison Cultural Plan 2011 - City of Madison, Wisconsin

Residents could
be encouraged
to take a
stronger role
in defining
neighborhood
plans.
The city already relies heavily on the participation of neighborhood residents and
associations in the development of neighborhood plans. These plans are flexibly
defined to accommodate the diversity of neighborhood types and interests. They
may or may not, as the neighborhood prefers, address design standards, historic
preservation issues, or sustainability provisions. While flexibility in defining
neighborhood plans is reasonable, residents would take a stronger role in
addressing these issues with greater encouragement to do so.
The unique historic identity and traditional character of each neighborhood, not
just those located on the Isthmus, should be preserved and protected. Green
spaces should be folded into neighborhood plans. Strong and practical historic
preservation, urban design, and neighborhood conservation ordinances are
necessary foundational tools. Residents, natural leaders, and neighborhood
associations should be trained to work effectively on behalf of maintaining high
standards of design, preservation, and sustainability in their own neighborhoods.
See Recommendation 25.
III.C.4. HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Madison is an interesting community with regard to historic preservation. It is home
to the State Historical Society, but it lacks a traditional local historical society. It has
a longstanding historic preservation ordinance regarded as a model in the state,
but it is currently in the process of re-evaluating that ordinance. It has five historic
districts designated under the local ordinance and more than twenty designated
under the federal National Register program. The locally designated districts have
design guidelines that regulate alterations in the districts, but those guidelines vary
widely in their thoroughness and clarity.
While older areas of the city have been evaluated for historic significance, most
areas built in the second half of the last century have not. Municipal efforts to
identify and designate historically significant places have been unfocused and
often undertaken by people and organizations outside of the city departments,
while the University of Wisconsin has supplemented it Campus Master Plan with a
cultural landscape inventory. The community has many extraordinarily important
archeological sites, but it has not done a survey identifying them.
Madison Cultural Plan Findings
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