Newsletter Archive: January 2025

Happy New Year!
I’m always so excited and energized by the start of a new calendar year. I think it’s because my birthday is in January, so I grew up always being excited about the month finally arriving.

Although we have the coldest months of winter ahead of us, the days are getting longer and spring will be here before we know it. If you’re like me and you make New Year’s resolutions, best of luck to you in achieving your goals this year. Maybe I’ll see you at the gym! 😊

Stormwater and Trees
I received a number of inquiries about trees last month from some District residents who were concerned about the removal of trees on city property between Algonquin Road and Manito Court. The property contains a drainage ditch that, as part of the “Pheasant Branch Ridge Drainageway,” carries water from the southern parts of the neighborhood to the detention basin on Whittlesey Road. Maintenance work was done recently next to and behind the houses on the west side of Algonquin Road to improve the ditch’s stormwater function. This work included removing some of the trees that had filled in the ditch since it was constructed years ago (see the before and after images below from 2000 and 2022, with the city parcel outlined in turquoise). My understanding is that neighbors along Algonquin were consulted prior to the work being performed on the Algonquin side of the ditch. Also, the only trees removed by the city were on city property. The Manito side of the ditch will be done at a later date, possibly in 2026, and residents on that side will be consulted before the work is done.





There are several reasons why residents would be concerned about the removal of trees. From an aesthetic perspective, most people would prefer to look out on trees than they would a building or a road or a neighbor’s backyard. Even if a somewhat natural area remains after trees are taken out, a site might be left looking barren compared to its previous state. Residents may have concerns about the effect on property values, too. And from an ecological perspective, no one wants to see wildlife habitat destroyed.

I understand these concerns. I had my own backyard view spoiled at two houses prior to moving to Middleton. It was upsetting, but I don’t think my property value was affected because both houses sold quickly and for much more than I paid. As a vegan, I care deeply about the welfare of all animals, including wildlife. Protecting and improving wildlife habitat is so important to me that, four years ago, I converted the lawn in my backyard to prairie plants. I love that my property provides birds, insects, butterflies, and other critters a safe space for finding food and shelter.

The reality is that my wishes and desires end where someone else’s property begins. As much as I value the trees in other people’s yards, I recognize that they’re on someone else’s property. And that means I can’t control what happens to those trees. For example, if the city needs to maintain a stormwater feature to reduce the risk of flooding, I can’t stop the staff from making those changes. I can and do ask for trees and other habitat to be preserved to the extent possible, and for staff to work with affected neighbors on any plans that involve cutting down trees. As a member of the Plan Commission, I ask developers to do the same.

I can advocate for habitat preservation, but I can’t force it to happen. Sometimes the trees that wind up getting removed are in bad physical condition even though they might appear to be healthy. Also, many trees — including some shown in the 2022 image above — are undesirable species that create a lot of mess for residents (think cottonwoods) and can even pose a danger of falling during a storm. Rather than chance causing harm to people, houses, or cars, it’s prudent to take such trees out.

Middleton is very lucky to have great staff in charge of urban forestry and conservancy lands. For the past two years, I have encouraged the Parks Department to propose a capital project to plant more trees as part of the department’s annual budget request. We may even be able to get grant money for such a project. I plan to continue advocating for this when we get around to planning the budget for 2026. Planting new trees can’t completely make up for the loss of existing trees. But new plantings will create new habitat and may also help reduce our city’s carbon footprint over the long run.

Stormwater and Housing Development
In December, the Water Resources Management and Stormwater Utility Commission, or WRMSUC, signed off on the request from the developer of the property at 2159 Allen to pay fees in lieu for the stormwater management plan not fully meeting our ordinance’s requirement for infiltration/recharge. In November, we approved a similar request for fees in lieu related to peak flow. The decision means that WRMSUC found the plan to meet Middleton’s requirements to the “maximum extent practicable.” What exactly does all this mean? I’ll try to explain.

First, and most importantly, the city staff who review all stormwater plans are experts in the field of stormwater management. They also understand our stormwater ordinance and other requirements that the city needs to meet for things like reducing the quantity of “total suspended solids,” or TSS, that flows into Lake Mendota. As staff reviewed the proposed stormwater management plan for 2159 Allen, their “primary concern is to ensure that, during large storm events, [a] development will not lead to increases in flood elevations downstream and thereby increase flood risks to public infrastructure and private properties lying between the development and Lake Mendota.”

Our stormwater ordinance makes up Chapter 26 of Middleton’s municipal code. It requires developers to meet standards for water quality and for the quantity of water that leaves a site. Water quality measures include sediment control (TSS), oil and grease control, and — for watersheds containing thermally sensitive rivers or streams — temperature control. Extra protections are required for wetlands and areas near water supply wells. Stormwater management systems also need to control the quantity of runoff, meaning the volume of water and the peak rate at which it flows from the site. Finally, our ordinance specifies requirements for infiltration (water seeping into the ground or otherwise staying on the property) and for recharge (water replenishing the underlying aquifer). Each site is unique, so the ability to meet the standards is determined by how the post-development conditions compare to the pre-development conditions.

Calcio is the developer of the Allen Boulevard site. The first phase would entail building 62 units in two 3-story buildings along Middleton Beach Road, with parking underneath the buildings. The stormwater plan covers the entire site, including the possibility of adding two 5-story buildings along Allen. WRMSUC accepted the staff’s recommendation to allow the developer to pay partial fees in lieu for not fully meeting the standards for both peak discharge rate and for infiltration/recharge. In his memo to the WRMSUC, Erik Sorensen of the Public Works Department explained that the plan “exceeds water quality performance requirements and meets peak rate control requirements for all storms above the 1-yr event” (emphasis mine). In addition, Erik “concur[ed] with Dane County staff that exempting the site from the 1-yr (and potentially 2-yr) peak rate control requirements would NOT significantly increase flood risk, soil erosion, or water pollution downstream.”

Erik also agreed with county staff that, because of the poor underlying soils, the site meets the criteria for exemption from the infiltration standard in the ordinance. As I explained in last month’s newsletter, when a site meets the conditions for an exemption, development is allowed to go forward. Middleton goes beyond what other cities do by charging a “fee in lieu” when full compliance can’t be achieved. Our ordinance calls these “fees in lieu,” but a more accurate description would be “mitigation fees” or something similar because the fees are intended to generate revenue for new or improved stormwater measures elsewhere in the watershed.

At the request of WRMSUC, the developer revised the original stormwater plan to reduce impervious surfaces and increase the use of green infrastructure. The revised plan brought infiltration up to 70.9% from the original 52.5%, which is much closer to the ordinance’s requirement of infiltrating 90% of the pre-development volume. With the changes to the stormwater management plan, the impervious surface area across the entire site is estimated at 65.1% when fully developed. To the developer’s credit, that’s far below what would be allowed under the current zoning (76.9% for the whole site) and is actually similar to what’s found on many lakefront residential lots along Middleton Beach Road. A little more than 22% of the site area will be devoted to stormwater management, which is a large amount for this type of development.

Why am I providing so much detail on stormwater at 2159 Allen? Because Middleton needs more housing, and stormwater is often cited as a reason for not allowing development to take place — especially if it involves apartments. Several of the neighbors of 2159 Allen oppose building apartments at this site, and for the past year they have raised stormwater as a major concern. I frequently see city decisions related to development plans or stormwater get misrepresented, whether intentionally or not. The discussion at the WRMSUC’s December meeting showed how difficult it can be to understand the science of stormwater management and the esoteric details of our stormwater ordinance. It’s so complicated, nuanced, and even counterintuitive that the neighbors opposed to development actually advocated for changes to the modeling that would have reduced the requirements and made it easier for the developer to comply. (If any readers really want to dig into this, I encourage you to watch the video of the meeting to hear a lengthy discussion.)

WRMSUC will be updating Middleton’s stormwater ordinance in 2025. I would like to find a better name for “fees in lieu” to more accurately reflect what they are. I’d also like to see the fees increased, to charge the same fee (not a reduced one) for redevelopment sites, and to add a plain-language explanation of what the ordinance does so that it’s easier for people to understand it.

Municipal Code Updates
A city’s municipal code might not seem like something to get excited about. But I find it really exciting that Middleton’s code is now available in MuniCode. This online code is very user-friendly in both format and in the ability to search for terms like “trees” or “zoning.” Previously, our code was housed on the city website in separate PDFs for each chapter. This meant that you either had to know which chapter you wanted to search or else you’d have to open each PDF file and search. And even then, you wouldn’t know whether there were other chapters that had relevant content related to your search terms. MuniCode puts the entire code in one place for easy searching.

Former Alder Kendra Wochos and I championed the switch to MuniCode in 2023 during the budget planning for 2024. The use of technology to make city government more efficient and to improve accessibility for our residents is one of the actions in Middleton’s Strategic Plan, and switching to MuniCode was right in line with this goal. I encourage readers to check it out.

Speaking of Middleton’s municipal code, Council considered a few ordinance changes during our last meetings of 2024. We tweaked the section on “Prohibition of Noises Disturbing the Peace” to prohibit the operation of heavy construction equipment outside “the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except City holidays, when such operations are prohibited.” We also clarified that the prohibition applies to equipment being used “on a construction site,” not on public roads.

Council rejected a proposed change to Chapter 2 of the code that would have merged the Commission on Youth with the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Commission, or PRFC. The rationale provided in the recommendation by the PRFC was that the Commission on Youth hadn’t met for over a year and it didn’t have a full complement of members. The proposed merger would have given the PRFC the responsibility of “studying the needs of the youth citizens in the Middleton community, [making] recommendations on effective ways to solve the problems faced by the young, and [bringing] to the attention of the Common Council any special programs needed to aid the young people of the City.”

I didn’t think this new authority would be sufficient to address the needs of Middleton’s young people. Several of my Council colleagues agreed, and we voted 6-2 to reject the proposed merger. We acknowledged the need to improve how the Youth Commission operates. But we didn’t think eliminating it was the right solution. I look forward to the Council discussing ways to re-energize and possibly restructure the Youth Commission later this year. I’d love to hear from readers about their ideas for the commission.

In other ordinance-related news, the Plan Commission has been working on changes to Chapter 33, our newly updated Outdoor Lighting Code, to make it more consistent with a model ordinance published by Dark Sky International. (The model ordinance template came out after we updated the lighting code in early 2024.) Consistent with the template, commissioners supported the idea of creating specific lighting zones, such as lower lighting zones around conservancy areas. Staff will prepare a lighting zone map and table to include in the code. The full draft code will be the subject of a public hearing early in 2025.

Tax Bills, Present and Future
All property owners received their tax bills in December. Based on my own bill, property taxes went up 7%, and with the drop in the Lottery & Gaming Credit, the net increase was 7.8%. (If your bill doesn’t show a Lottery and Gaming Credit, visit this page on the DOR website to learn more and to get one.) Of this amount, the lion’s share of the increase — 11.2% — was for the MCPASD. Taxes for Madison Technical College and Dane County increased by 6.9% and 5.3%, respectively. And the City of Middleton came in with the lowest increase at 2.2%. In terms of dollar amounts, the city’s share made up a little under 31% of the total, with MCPASD accounting for just under 47%. In 2023, these amounts were 32.3% and 45.2%, respectively.

During the budget process each year, Finance Director Bill Burns prepares a multi-year budget projection as part of his “Budget Kick-off” presentation. I’ve shared this projection with readers before, but I’m sharing it again because I consider it to be one of the most important pieces of information I receive as a Council member. The projection for 2026-2028 assumes 2% annual growth in property taxes (determined by our “net new construction”), and other revenue increases ranging from 2-5%. Among the assumptions for expenditures, benefits are projected to go up 3.5% each year and compensation by 2.5% annually.



Given these assumptions, Bill’s projection shows that, in 2026, we’ll have a budget gap, or deficit, of around $416,000. This amount will be reduced by about $100,000 thanks to voters having approved the stormwater referendum in November. But closing a forecasted budget gap of over $300,000 in 2026 will be difficult.

Bill laid out some potential strategies for managing the budget gaps in 2026-2028. One of those is an operating levy-limit referendum sufficient to cover increases in personnel costs in 2026 and 2027. I know that no one likes to see their taxes increase. But I also know that Middleton residents appreciate the high level of city services that we receive. And as I have said before, if we want to keep the level of services that we have, we need to be able to pay the people who provide those services. If we don’t, they’ll take their talents to another city that will pay them more. With net new construction limiting our tax levy increases, we either need to cut staff and services or else ask the voters to approve an increase through a referendum.

It’s January 1, so Council has a ways to go before making a decision about a referendum. But I’m giving everyone a heads up far in advance because transparency is important to me. Watch for updates on taxes and the budget in future newsletters. And, as always, feel free to contact me with your thoughts on this topic.

Thank you!
Thank you for reading my first edition of “E-News on 6” for 2025. Feel free to email me or call/text me at 608.630.7500 if you need help with a city matter, want to relay your thoughts on an issue, or have questions about city decisions and my votes. I’m not active on social media, so the best way to reach out to me about anything official is by phone or using my district email.

If you find this newsletter helpful, I hope you’ll share it with friends, family, and neighbors who live anywhere in Middleton. Just please make sure to ask them not to unsubscribe you and not to report this email as spam. Thanks!

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Important Stuff to Know
I produce this newsletter all on my own,* at my own initiative, to help District 6 residents stay informed. This is not an official city publication, I don’t speak for the city, and producing this newsletter isn’t one of my official responsibilities as a member of the Common Council.

If you’d like to reproduce or create new content from this material, please ask me first and make sure to cite the source.

*Shout out to my husband Ed Janairo for his invaluable assistance with editing and proofreading!