This fall kicks off the North Area Plan public engagement process, and the following 18 or so months will bring many opportunities for Northside neighbors to come together and share your vision for the future of North Madison! The Southeast (SE) and Southwest (SW) Area plans came to council for final approval in late June and can serve as examples for some possibilities of what can be expected as far as engagement and timing.
Public engagement was carried out in 5 phases: ‘Data Gathering and Review’, ‘Issues and Opportunities,’ ‘Develop Recommendations,’ ‘Draft Plan Review’ and ‘Adoption and Implementation’. After the final reports were drafted, they went to six commissions and committees for further feedback and approvals before finally being adopted by the council. The full plan documents can be found on the City’s planning website and could serve as an example of the planning categories that will help guide the North Area Plan.
Throughout the public engagement process, over 1,000 SW residents and hundreds of SE residents participated through in-person or virtual meetings, two-part mailed survey, and pop-up engagement at events throughout the area. The City worked with community partners and the nINA Collective to lead nine focus groups (per plan) and targeted outreach to engage folks who are underrepresented in past planning efforts. During the ‘Develop Recommendations’ phase, folks engaged with a business walk, neighborhood walk, art workshop, more focus groups, back to school events and more!
I share all this to hopefully build excitement and emphasize that there will be a vast variety of entry points to engage with this work and come together as a community. The Northside has a long history and presence of deeply engaged residents, and I look forward to bringing even more folks into that tradition with the North Area Plan.
