The State Street Design Plan has the official go-ahead after the City Council voted unanimously to adopt the plan Tuesday night.

The plan has been in the works for more than two years, and was considered by numerous city committees before recommendations were sent to the council.

Supporters of the plan, including Downtown Coordinating Committee chair Mary Lang Sollinger, expressed satisfaction Tuesday that the final version of the plan recommendations finally made its way through the approval process.

“It’s a plan that reflects many themes of the public hearings,” Sollinger said in reference to committees encouraging public art and desiring limited bus traffic on the street.

But not everyone in attendance supported the plan’s approval. Madison resident Mark Sibley said he was concerned that a project as large as the State Street Design Project was at no point up for a referendum vote, as the construction of the Monona Terrace was. He also said the plan should have given consideration to improving runoff that currently ends up in Madison’s lakes.

“The plan is mediocre from every standpoint,” Sibley said.

Included in the adopted resolution is a plan to construct a test area outside the Civic Center where citizens will view different design elements of the plan, like paving options and benches. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the test area will allow people to “be able to see for [them]selves if the plan is mediocre.” He assured critics of the plan that the city committees involved have examined the plan and fully understand the process.

“We know what we are doing,” Verveer said. “It’s in black and white. It will lead to the long term bottom line of a better State Street.”

The design plan approval process was briefly delayed in February due to some council members’ reservations about spending money on the plan during a time of budget uncertainties.

Verveer assured council members that no money is tied to approving the design plan, and that steps that do require funds will be considered in the future.

“In no way does this resolution authorize the construction of anything,” Verveer said. “Every shovel put into the ground has to [be approved].”

Other aspects included in the adopted plan include supporting a public competition for the design of bus shelters, launching a study to determine if buses could be removed from the 100 block of State Street and encouraging the use of public art in various street elements.

While the design project is currently behind schedule in comparison to other public projects of similar size, Verveer said the process must proceed because funds received from the federal government must be spent by Sept. 30, and city officials want to coordinate construction with that of the Overture Center.

Also at the meeting, council members heard testimony regarding the city’s Section 8 ordinance. After hours of debate failed to produce a vote, the council decided to take up the issue at a later meeting.

Section 8 is a federal program that guarantees rent payment for accepted applicants to decrease concentrations of what Ald. Todd Jarrell, District 8, calls “poverty pockets” in urban areas.

The ordinance was crafted to prohibit landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on their Section 8 status.

Supporters of the ordinance said several area landlords refuse to provide housing for Section 8 voucher recipients.

But landlords argued Tuesday that their action is not discriminatory and that the problem lies in the Section 8 program itself. Some testified that they are not protected from Section 8 voucher users who do not pay rent. Others said they should not be mandated to participate in a government program.

But Madison School Board member Bill Keyes said allowing landlords to refuse Section 8 recipients may hinder city diversity efforts.

“Banning discrimination based on Section 8 status will result in neighborhoods of more diverse peoples,” Keyes said. “Apartheid of any kind is wrong.”