A publication of the Wisconsin League of Municipalities has published an article about the solutions two V&A client communities have used to help address the housing crisis.
Key to making the significant changes needed to allow new types of attainable and all levels of housing, and more of it, is to embrace a zoning code rewrite. In the League Municipality Magazine article, the City of Middleton and the Village of Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin chart their progress and results of undergoing this process.
Key aspects of these changes include new code for mixed-use, parking minimums, accessory dwelling units, lot sizes, and clarifications to stormwater runoff standards.
After implementing their new code, both the City of Middleton and the Village of Mt. Pleasant have concluded that the benefits of this rewrite–including ability to develop more sustainable and attainable housing–far outweigh the costs of a rewrite.
Recently both Middleton and Mt. Pleasant were awarded Best Practice Awards by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Planning Association for their new ordinances. Both communities’ zoning code rewrites were drafted with the help of Vandewalle & Associates.