Madison’s City Council voted to approve the hotly contested nuisance party ordinance in its third form, which includes additional amendments that some officials said cast the ordinance in a more favorable light for both students and city officials.
Three amendments to the ordinance, designed to promote engagement and conversation between the Madison Police Department, tenants and landlords, were passed with considerable support from council members.
An amendment requiring the ordinance to be reviewed by the council every year, presented by Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, was one of the three passed at the meeting.
A sunset clause amendment was also proposed, which would end the ordinance after two years if no further legislative action takes place to extend the measure. Ald. Michael Verveer, District 4, presented the clause to the council, saying that while he did not generally support sunset clauses, the provision would work well to provide necessary discussion of the ordinance in the future.
Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Chair Hannah Somers said while ASM still does not fully support the ordinance, the measure has continued to change and develop more favorably since its first draft was presented to students.
“We are generally opposed to the idea of this ordinance,” Somers said. “It doesn’t benefit students in any way. We do support the version in front of you much more than the original versions.”
Somers voiced the student government’s approval that the ordinance calls for student involvement in conversations between landlords and police in cases of nuisance parties. The ordinance can hopefully play a role in preventing landlords from imposing fines onto students, Somers added.
Housing Committee member Curt Brink also spoke in support of the ordinance at the meeting.
“The beauty of this is that if there is a problem, everybody has to sit down here together,” Brink said.
Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, asked Brink whether the ordinance changes would go far enough to protect tenants.
Brink responded that it is too soon for committee members to know the full effects of the ordinance but they will continue to monitor its enforcement until its first review in December.
Madison Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf noted the revised ordinance will require “absentee landlords” to get involved with their properties. He added if there is a disturbance or violent action on the property, the landlord will be called in to talk with the tenants and police.
Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said she felt the proposal really did not have anything to do with the underlying issues of drinking. She said she wanted to make sure this was not an ordinance that would simply add fines to the system, but would instead incentivize engagement between tenants and landlords on the issue.
“I definitely support the third substitute,” Bidar-Sielaff said. “I’m curious to see the report if this makes a difference or not.”
The sponsor of the nuisance party ordinance, Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9, said the ordinance is not supposed to be centered on students, but is rather a measure concerning behavior.
“Over the months, this ordinance has changed from a series of penalties to an education tool,” Skidmore said. “I think you’ll see it’s going to be very effective.”
