The City of Madison Landmarks Ordinance Review Committee (LORC) has proposed revisions to Madison’s Historic Preservation Ordinance for local historic districts. These ordinance changes will apply to all properties in the Mansion Hill, Third Lake Ridge, Marquette Bungalows, University Heights, and First Settlement local historic districts.

LORC was appointed by the Common Council to revise the Historic Preservation Ordinance. General revisions to the ordinance were adopted in 2015, and the Committee began working on this set of revisions in 2017. The Committee is now seeking additional public input on the revisions.

LORC Chair, Ald. Keith Furman (Dist. 19) said, “The Committee has worked diligently over 34 meetings to develop an ordinance that will provide clear and consistent standards and processes to the benefit of all users. We appreciate the many perspectives shared during the process that helped LORC understand the complexities of the current ordinance to develop what we feel is a model that will serve the city for years to come.”

Three public meetings have been scheduled to provide an overview of the proposed changes and an opportunity to comment on the draft ordinance. LORC will consider input received in finalizing the draft ordinance before forwarding it to the Common Council for adoption, which is anticipated in late March. The scheduled public meetings and their respective topics are listed below:

1. All Districts / General Public Meeting:  Thursday, February 3 - 6:30 pm
2. Development Professionals + Contractors Meeting:  Monday, February 7 - noon
3. New Construction Meeting:  Thursday, February 10 - 6:30 pm

These will be virtual meetings and the public is invited to attend any of them. Participants will need to register in advance using instructions posted on the project website (below).

Anna Andrzejewski, Chair of the Madison Landmarks Commission, said, “The current ordinance includes different sets of standards for each of the five local historic districts and has evolved piecemeal over nearly five decades. The Landmarks Commission’s goal of preserving Madison’s unique historic resources will be best served by a more clear and consistent set of standards that reflect current preservation best practices.”

To view the draft ordinance, learn more about the process and additional input opportunities, complete a survey on the revisions, and more, please visit the project website: www.cityofmadison.com/historicpreservation