To improve affordable housing in Madison, the City of Madison Common Council approved a change to the city’s zoning code, according to the City of Madison.
The approved change will allow for students from low to moderate-income families to be referred to property owners in agreement with the City of Madison’s Land Use Restriction Agreement, according to the city’s announcement. The change will ensure qualifying students have the opportunity to rent affordable housing units. Further, qualifying students can rent at affordable rates alongside non-qualified students who are paying market rates in the same unit.
MGR Govindarajan emphasized the importance of this development.
MGR represents District 8, which includes the University of Wisconsin’s campus and surrounding areas. During his senior year at UW, MGR ran for city council with affordable housing as a key issue.
“My goal was always to make sure the student voice would be heard and the student voice really says, ‘we need more housing and we need more affordable housing,’” MGR, said.
More recently, MGR was the main sponsor for the recent change to the 2023 Madison Ordinance to increase allowable building heights for affordable housing.
The 2023 ordinance allows developers in the downtown Madison area to exceed the maximum number of stories while adhering to the maximum height if they follow guidelines set by the City of Madison. Developers must guarantee a portion of the extra units to be affordable and rented to those with an income at or below 60% of the area median income limits as specified in the Land Use Restriction Agreement, according to the ordinance.
“It’s almost impossible to find good housing that is affordable and safe,” MGR said. “When the idea came up to implement the ordinance a year and a half ago and then to expand it now, we jumped on it right away.”
MGR is also leading a partnership with Downtown Madison Inc. and is involved in the Affordable Housing Student Work Group at UW. The group is working with data from UW and the City of Madison to recommend policies to the city, which will result in improvements to the student housing market, MGR said.
The student group has seen significant progress already, MGR said.
Madison rent rates improved from 2023 to 2024 and rates are expected to improve in the next two years due to the group’s initiatives, MGR said.
The group and its partners are building an estimated 5,000 new beds for students by the end of 2026 — around 800 of those beds will be reserved for students from low to moderate-income families, MGR said.
Student involvement has initiated much of the affordable housing changes happening right now, MGR said.
“I want to encourage people, if they ever think about getting involved, to reach out, because it’s always worth it,” MGR said. “Madison is very good at actually listening to its community and its constituents.”
