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| Parks Alive, Air Quality, Comprehensive Plan Update and More! Parks Alive next week in Hammersley Park July 5 and Owl Creek Park July 6! Parks Alive builds stronger neighborhoods and connects neighbors to their parks through fun, family-friendly activities, music and free food. Events are held in parks across the city and throughout the summer. Next week you can connect with your neighbors and engage with your community at Hammersley Park on July 5 from 5-8:00 p.m. and Owl Creek Park on July 6 from 5-8:00 p.m. The Owl Creek event will include a 6:30 p.m. showing of Spider Man: No Way Home! Checkout all of the Parks Alive events and other summer activities listed on the Parks calendar. Comprehensive Plan Interim Update: City of Madison Opens Process for Future Land Use Amendments. The City of Madison is currently working on an Interim Update of its 2018 Comprehensive Plan, which is a broad-based plan that creates a vision for a future Madison. It guides decision-making and investment. It also guides private development through the Generalized Future Land Use (GFLU) map and Growth Priority Areas map. The Interim Update is focused on the Generalized Future Land Use (GFLU) map. Because land use decisions must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s GFLU map, conducting an interim update will maintain the GFLU map as an expression of current land use policy. It is anticipated that the majority of revisions to the GFLU map will be changes recommended in City plans adopted or amended after the Comprehensive Plan was adopted in August 2018. In addition to these administrative updates, the public has an opportunity to propose amendments to the GFLU map through this online application (due August 6, 2023). While updating and revising the GFLU map is the most significant part of the Interim Update, staff will also be updating some of the other maps within the plan document to reflect changes over the past five years, such as the Town of Madison attachment to the City, implementation of bus rapid transit, and other major projects. It is anticipated that the Goals, Strategies, and Actions as adopted within the original six Elements of the Comprehensive Plan will not be revised. However, there are some edits that are being considered in the Growth Framework chapter including updates to the map notes associated with the GFLU map, as well as additional guidance on emerging issues such as guidance for consideration of residential development in employment areas and mixed-use areas near the Beltline/interstate, and redevelopment of Special Institutional uses, like former places of worship. A full list of the proposed edits will be made available in August. For more on the Interim Update, including an anticipated timeline, a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document, past meeting recordings, and to sign up to receive project updates via email, please visit the project website. A virtual public meeting regarding the Comprehensive Plan Interim Update will be held via Zoom on Thursday, July 14 at 6:00pm. Registration is required and can be completed on the project website. Madison Public Library’s summer We Read Campaign returns. Kids can visit the library, the Dream Bus or a Parks Alive event to get their own free copy of the We Read Card Deck, a new activity that families can do at the library or from home. Pick up a card deck full of action cards that offer lots of different ways kids can connect with reading, form relationships and share what they’ve read with others. Each deck contains prize cards that families can enjoy once they’ve completed the action cards. Click HERE for more information. Air Quality Updates. Madison has had several air quality alerts recently. Check Public Health Madison & Dane County’s guidance, which includes visiting a website such as the EPA’s Air Now webpage. Air Now allows you to type in your location and learn what the air quality level is, and instructions for what actions to take like staying indoors or choosing less strenuous outdoor activities. Air Now is a partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Park Service, NASA, Centers for Disease Control, and tribal, state, and local air quality agencies. Streets Division Updates Independence Day: Make sure you check your collection schedule to see how the upcoming July 4 holiday affects your trash & recycling collection. Your calendar can be downloaded at www.cityofmadison.com/CollectionSchedule. Also – be mindful of the drop-off site schedule with the holiday. The drop-off sites will be closed on Tuesday, July 4. The Sycamore & South Point sites are also usually closed on Wednesdays, so that means they will also be closed on Wednesday, July 5, too. Special Olin Avenue Closure in Late July: Due to the All City Swim meet, the Olin Avenue facility will be completely closed to the public on July 27, 28, and 29. That means no drop-off site, no mulch pickup, and no brush processing during those three days. Recycle Better on July 12: Sustain Dane and the Streets Division are teaming up to offer one last Recycle Better class in 2023. The class starts on July 12. You can sign up and get more details here or by checking out Sustain Dane’s Recycle Better website, www.sustaindane.org/Better Avoid Battery Fires: Lithium battery fires have been in the news lately, so be sure you are handling your batteries correctly so you do not cause a fire. The correct recycling steps can be found on the Streets Division’s website. August Moving Days – Already?: Yeah, I know. It’s nearly July, so moving days will be around the corner. All the details you need are up on the Streets Division’s website, www.cityofmadison.com/MovingDays. |
