Middleton council denies FLU amendment for 7617 Terrace Avenue after hours of resident opposition

The Middleton Common Council rejected a requested amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan future land use (FLU) map for 7617 Terrace Avenue on April 3, 2024, after residents described the proposal as rushed and damaging to a historic neighborhood.

Neighbors packed the council chamber and a steady stream of residents urged alderpersons to reject both the FLU change and an associated rezoning that would allow downtown mixed‑use (MUD) development on the 0.2‑acre Mariner parcel. Anne Johnson, who identified herself and gave her Aurora Street address, told the council: “I do not support the rezoning of 7617 Terrace Avenue. This project feels oddly rushed,” citing concerns about blasting near historic buildings, an adjacent daycare, impacts to the environmental corridor and the precedent of replacing single‑family homes with larger apartments.

Why it matters: The developer and some staff say adding the Mariner parcel to adjacent redevelopment may be necessary to make the larger Burns/Verne redevelopment financially feasible; opponents say changing the FLU map four months after adoption undercuts trust in the plan. Abby Atune, the city’s director of planning and community development, told the council the Mariner site is a 1980 single‑family house and that staff has proposed an “alternative concept” to reduce neighborhood impacts and will take that concept to the Community Development Authority on April 11.

Council debate centered on process and scale. Several alderpersons called the vote premature without a full site plan and additional review, while others said the comprehensive plan is intended to be amended as conditions change and that the Burns site has been a long‑standing TIF priority. The motion to approve the FLU amendment failed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the meeting as failing 7–1.

Developer representatives said they are continuing to revise plans. Sarah New Year of New Year Investments, which owns the Mariner parcel and the former Verne’s Auto Body site, described prior local projects and said the firm seeks to add housing in a walkable, infill location. “We are committed to working continuing on that work,” Anne Morrison, a New Year principal, said, adding that the house at 7617 is not historic and that the developer has sought to preserve a green buffer adjacent to neighboring houses.

Response from the council: After the FLU amendment failed, a separate motion to refer the rezoning ordinance for 7617 Terrace Avenue back to the Plan Commission passed 7–1. That referral pauses any immediate rezoning while staff and the Plan Commission further consider alternative concepts and the CDA’s input about the adjacent parking lot and skate park parcels.

What’s next: The Plan Commission and CDA will review revised concepts; councilmembers and staff indicated the process will continue with further opportunities for public input. The developers said they intend to continue working with staff and neighbors on a revised plan.

Votes and formal actions at a glance: the FLU amendment (first reading) failed (recorded 7–1); a motion to refer the rezoning ordinance to the Plan Commission passed (7–1).