Endless Possibilities                      nomadisonairport.org

Madison has an opportunity to create affordable homes.
Madison and Dane County are making plans for the future. Plans for making Madison a better place to live. Plans to reduce suburban sprawl. But something is missing. The city's Comprehensive Plan removes thousands of acres in Madison from future residential growth where no one is allowed to live. This area could provide affordable homes to 40,000 more city residents who would inject their vitality into our community.

Why is this area considered uninhabitable? The Dane County Regional Airport. It has created an area unsuitable for people to live. Instead of the benefits of additional city residents, Madison gets an airport ghetto. While surrounding communities grow, the county airport stops residential growth in Madison. The picture at right shows Madison's airport ghetto. Click on the image to see the full extent of this area.
It doesn't need to be this way. Madison and Dane County can follow the lead of other cities like Austin, Texas, by relocating the county airport outside the city and replacing it with a lively, urban area - a Smart Growth showplace.

Joel Hirschhorn, author of "Sprawl Kills - How Blandburbs Steal Your Time, Health and Money," and former UW professor and Madison resident, says:
"The concept of carefully examining relocating the Dane County airport to free up considerable land for close-in development that would reduce sprawl around Madison is a fine illustration of "smart growth" thinking.  City and county officials should be encouraged by thoughtful citizens and business leaders to pursue analysis of this option."
Madison's Airport GhettoBoundaries of the Airport Ghetto
What have other communties done?
Austin, Texas relocated their city airport and the former Peter Mueller Municipal Airport has been redeveloped into a "new mixed-use urban village in the heart of Austin. Mueller is a model for responsible planning and sustainability. In every way, Mueller breaks the mold and offers a variety of homes, shops, services, schools and places to work and play in a setting that's vibrant, pleasing and downright friendly."

By mid-2007, the project's developer will build 4,600 homes, including single-family and multifamily units, half for owners and half for renters, priced at $130,000 to $550,000.

Learn more by visiting the web site: www.muelleraustin.com/

Click on the image to the right and see Austin's plan for development of the former Mueller airport site.
Austin's Urban Village
Austin Airport Redevelopment Plan
Denver, Colorado relocated their city airport and redeveloped the 4,700 acre Stapleton International Airport site into "the nation’s largest urban development, is an urban tapestry of homes, shops, offices, parks, and schools in a walkable community of classic city architecture."

According to the Sierra Club, the conversion of Stapleton is a model of smart growth development. Only 10 minutes from downtown Denver, the mixed-use project will add 12,000 housing units, including detached houses, town houses and lofts by 2020. Read the Sierra Club comments on the redevelopment of Stapleton, or visit the web site: www.stapletondenver.com

Click on the image to the right and see Denver's plan for redevelopment of the former Stapleton airport site.
Denver's  Walkable Community
Stapleton Airport Redevelopment Plan

Other examples of airport redevelopment into residential housing include the Vancouver, Washington; San Bernardino, California; and Burlington, Connecticut. Read about these projects in the March 12, 2006 article in the New York Times -- End of the Runway: New Homes Are Rising.
How would you redevelop the county airport site in Madison?
Here is a sampling of redevelopment ideas from elsewhere in the country:
  • A compact, mixed-use urban village.
  • Homes, shops, offices, parks, and schools in a walkable community.
  • Public spaces, not just places for driving but for walking, biking, hanging out, attending concerts or outdoor movies.
  • Easy access to downtown Madison or the UW via bike path or bus.
  • Bridges and walking paths over Starkweather Creek.
  • Designed to minimize traffic congestion both within the community and on surrounding roadways
  • A Town Center to provide retail and services neighbors need, all within walking distance.
  • A place to work for artists and entrepreneurs, small businesses and larger employers seeking an accessible yet vibrant place to call home.
  • Use of New Urbanism design to provide walkable neighborhoods similar to Madison's older neighborhoods.
  • Use of Green Building Program and LEEDS certification.
  • Houses that feature a front porch
  • Smaller lots with public open space and parks as gathering places.
  • Sidewalks with tree lawns to encourage pedestrian activity
  • Dining, shopping and nightlife 24-hour a day within walking distance of most residences.
  • Workplaces and cultural venues close to housing.
  • Public art like sculptures, murals or fountains to enliven public spaces for living, working, or relaxing.
  • Incorporation of public art into bus shelters, information kiosks or public benches.
  • A community that not only enhances the quality of life for people today, but also ensures that the needs of future generations can be met. 
  • Use the existing county airport terminal to service a high-speed rail connection from Madison to Chicago and Minneapolis.
  • Pictures and sketches from similar airport redevelopment projects are shown at the right.


What's at stake by leaving the county airport in Madison
The county airport is an economic burden to Madison residents.

  • The county airport is a regional facility with regional benefits. It does not need to be located in the heart of Madison where it consumes valuable land and makes the city less desirable place to live.
  • The county airport removes over 7,000 acres from future residential growth. This area could provide homes for 40,000 more residents. Unlike concrete runways, these residents would contribute to the vitality of Madison.
  • Based on the average household income for Dane County, those 40,000 residents would earn $200 million and generate $1 billion in economic benefits to be reinvested into the city. That means for every airport passenger, Madison loses $1,000 in economic benefits.
  • The county airport pays no property taxes. A comparably-sized residential area would provide over $46 million each year to support better schools and city services.
  • By continuing to use valuable city land to accommodate the county airport, those 40,000 residents will be living outside Madison, commuting to jobs in the city, and consuming far more land and resources than if they lived in the city.
  • According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Madison had a 3.1% unemployment rate in 2005. That's full employment and consistently the lowest unemployment in Wisconsin.
  • The U.S. census for 2000 reports that over 85,000 people or nearly half of the people working in Madison commute from outside the city.  Madison needs more balance. With nearly half of Madison workers commuting from outside the city, we need to provide more housing, especially affordable housing, for people already working here, not to create jobs for more commuters increasing sprawl.
The county airport is an environmental burden to Madison residents.

  • According to USEPA, environmental justice demands that everyone enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards. The county airport has created a class of city residents surrounding the airport who are not being protected and have no ability to defend themselves.
  • A 1997 noise impact study conducted by the Dane County Airport determined there are over 6,000 people living in areas which exceed FAA noise standards. In response, the county airport did nothing. When the Louisville International Airport conducted a similar study in 1993, its response was to commit over $340 million to purchase homes and relocate over 4,000 residents and area businesses exposed to noise levels above the FAA standards.
  • The county airport is too close to existing Madison homes, schools and residents. If the city's Comprehensive Plan considers areas near the county airport unihabitable, why is it acceptable to continue exposing thousands of people to the same noise and air pollution? Air traffic pollution impacts the health and quality life of those living and working in Madison. It makes Madison an undesirable place to live.
  • If county airport traffic was subject to the Madison noise ordinance, fines would exceed $65 million each year, or $65 for every passenger. This begins to reflect the cost of airport traffic on the health and quality of life of Madison neighborhoods and residents.


Watch
"Planes over Madison"
on
YouTube


 
What do readers have to say?
"I find myself agreeing with your entire argument."

"I wish that instead of investing a pile of money in the new facility Dane Co. would have relocated the airport ten or twenty years ago. Please send me a bumper sticker or two and some more to share."

"You're absolutely correct! Madison needs more affordable housing, not an airport ghetto."

"Yes, it is time to stop wasting the city's eastside while the rest of the county grows."

"I never realized how much Madison residents sacrifice to support the county airport."

"What a shining example of Smart Growth we could provide by replacing the airport ghetto with homes and neighborhoods."

"Where are the "Smart Growth" leaders?"

"Such a pro-Madison idea. The sounds of people would be far better than the noise of airplanes."
Frequently asked questions?
How would we pay for relocation of the county airport?

The Austin and Denver airports were relocated using airport revenue bonds at no cost to taxpayers. The cost of relocation can also be offset by the difference in land values between the current and new location, airport revenues and federal support. It is no secret that while the rest of county government struggles with tight budgets, the county airport has had unlimited funds for new construction projects.

Where should the airport be moved?

A thorough review of possible sites is needed. One potential location is northeast of Sun Praire along Highway 151.

Wouldn't relocating the airport create more sprawl than leaving it in Madison?

While a relocated airport will consume county land, this will be far less than the land and resources consumed by those 40,000 or more residents that will live and commute from sprawling subdivisions outside the city. Growth at the new airport location can be limited by using the airport's and county's control over zoning. Currently the airport's control over zoning is ironically used to stop residential growth within Madison, where it is needed the most.
Show your support and request a bumper sticker.
Send your name and address to: bumper_sticker@[remove this space]nomadisonairport.org
What next?
Let your city and county representatives know its time to start planning a better future for Madison and Dane County. We need a study of the costs and benefits of relocating the county airport out of Madison.

Write County Executive Kathy Falk and let her know the Dane County smart growth plan and her Attain Dane plan forgot to evaluate the impacts of keeping the county airport in Madison. This omission will create, not discourage, more Dane County sprawl.

Write Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and tell him the city Comprehensive Plan is out of balance and needs to more aggressively create housing, especially affordable housing, within Madison. His plan forgot to evaluate the impacts of keeping the county airport in Madison. We need homes, not an airport ghetto. It's time for him to return to his sprawl fighting roots and start looking out for Madison residents.

Email us with your thoughts and ideas at:  info@[remove this space]nomadisonairport.org

Endless Possibilities
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1