THE CITY OF MADISON “Endless Hometown Fun”.DOC

Use of the PlanCity staff and government will use the Plan to assist them with a variety of tasks including:  development and infrastructure decisions  acquisition and use of public la

THE CITY OF MADISON

“Endless Hometown Fun”

Purpose of the Plan

Madison’s Comprehensive Plan is a vision of what the City wants to be It is a guide to help the City preserve what citizens value and to enhance what should be improved In addition, the Planserves the following purposes:

 Addresses physical planning issues such as land use, transportation, housing, public facilities, parks and open spaces The plan also considers social and economic issues

 Ties together land use, transportation, parks and other components of the City into a single “comprehensive” plan that reflects the interrelationships and importance of all aspects of the City

 Creates a forum for the community to express a long-range vision for the City of

Madison through the year 2023

 Identifies key issues and goals expressed by the community and develops policies for achieving the goals and sets forth an implementation process to reach the established goals This provides the legal basis for land use control and it provides a link to the City’s ordinances that, by law, must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan

 Guides City Staff, the Planning Commission, the City Council and private developers in decisions related to preservation and development in the City

Use of the Plan

City staff and government will use the Plan to assist them with a variety of tasks including:

 development and infrastructure decisions

 acquisition and use of public land

 budgeting capital improvements

 annexation issues

 establishing regulatory changes

 communicating to the public Madison’s vision for its future

Property owners and residents will use the plan to assist them with tasks such as:

 determining potential property use

 understanding possible land use changes in the surrounding area

 establishing reasonable land value

 understanding future infrastructure improvements

 making property improvements

Developers will use the plan as a basis for:

 property acquisition

 establishing reasonable land value

 coordinating development plans with City infrastructure plans

Content of the Plan

Chapter One examines the City’s location, regional context, surrounding natural resources, history, population trends and other socio-economic information

Chapter Two identifies current land use within the City and provides an inventory and analysis for housing, businesses, community buildings and services, utilities, transportation, and parks and recreation

Chapter Three establishes a future land use plan for the City The topics examined include business and economic development, housing, transportation, parks and recreation,

infrastructure, services and facilities, and land use This section of the Comprehensive Plan also discusses specific planning strategies the community could follow to make land use decisions These strategies include goals, objectives and policy guidelines and planning activities

Chapter Four explains how to use the Comprehensive Plan by examining tools for implementing the Plan’s contents In addition, the chapter explains how the Comprehensive Plan should be reviewed and updated whenever revisions are needed

Vision Statement

A vision statement for the City of Madison was developed during the Task Force planning meetings in 2002 The purpose of a vision statement is to write down the values and concerns of the community as well as ideas of the future A vision statement articulates the best possible future based on an understanding of current reality and anticipated future change

The following vision statement represents Madison’s view of the next 20 years Many aspects ofthis vision statement already exist in Madison and articulating them in the vision statement helps the community realize what they value and want to keep in their community There are also concepts in this vision statement that the community can improve

This vision statement provides a foundation for future visioning processes There are many general statements in this vision statement that could become more specific through additional visioning exercises It also provides the City of Madison its own vision when working with other communities in the region to see where similarities occur

This vision statement also provides a foundation for planning decisions When discussing projects, the City of Madison should consider the vision statement to see if the project fits into the vision of the future

VISION STATEMENT FOR MADISON: LOOKING AHEAD

It is the year 2023 A stroll down Main Street in Madison and you will find that:

Madison maintains an excellent quality of life and pride with the following:

 A distinctive rural setting with a safe, supportive, caring and friendly environment

 An aesthetically pleasing and well groomed community

 A growing population made up of diverse ages and ethnic backgrounds

 An inclusive community which supports a positive attitude

 A large number of community people involved in leadership roles

 High quality education available and the elementary school located in Madison

 High quality medical facilities and health care

 A great relationship with neighboring communities, joining together on futuristic ventures when it benefits all involved

 A healthy community which supports young families

CONTINUED…

VISION STATEMENT CONTINUED…

Community activities thrive and consist of:

 Prairie Arts Center/Theatre

 Many quality community events

The economy consists of:

 Agriculture as the base of the economy

 A beautiful main street full of retail and service-oriented businesses

 High quality, high paying living wage jobs that support families

 A commitment to sustainable growth

 An aggressive and reliable workforce

 A progressive environment for entrepreneurs and businesses to succeed

 Locally-owned businesses which create community leaders and keep the wealth within our community

 Opportunities for family farms

 Opportunities for the younger population preventing permanent migration

There is a commitment to maintain infrastructure, services, transportation and housing which includes:

 An identified industrial park

 Rental properties available

 Quality, affordable and appropriate housing for all economic and age groups

 A successful housing rehabilitation program

 Investment and access to technology

 High quality health care facilities which include services for young and old

 Assisted living

Map 1.1

LOCATION OF MADISON WITHIN LAC QUI PARLE COUNTY AND MINNESOTA

Regional Context

Madison connects with the surrounding areas via U.S Highway 75 and Minnesota Highway 40 Watertown, South Dakota and Interstate Highway 29 are about 50 miles west of Madison Fargo, North Dakota is approximately 145 miles north of Madison on Highway 75

As the county seat and largest city in Lac qui Parle County, Madison provides many services andrecreational opportunities to the region These services include a hospital and clinic, nursing home facilities, a golf course, a museum, the county fair, courthouse and a swimming pool

1884 Both the first freight and the first passenger train arrived

Lac qui Parle County Courthouse, 1899

Carnegie Library, 1902

Municipal Building, 1903

1885 Madison incorporated Both Dawson and Madison started to petition for county seat status The first county seat was in Lac qui Parle Village.

1885 City grew to a population of 600

1886

The “Independent Press” moved from Lac qui Parle Village to Madison Many of the homes in Lac qui Parle Village also moved to Madison It was not uncommon to see

a prairie house moving cross-country in the horizon

1886 Lac qui Parle County Fair began on present site

1889 Madison won county seat status

1893 New school building replaces old one which had been destroyed by fire

1894 Madison Milling Company incorporated

1895 Common school district changed to an independent school district and a high school was organized First graduate from Madison High School finished in 1897 The

second graduate finished in 1898

1899 Courthouse built

1903 City Hall built

1908 School was expanded

Through the years, four separate fires destroyed main street, which resulted in a lack

of wood-framed buildings as main street buildings were replaced with modern brick structures

1950’s Memorial Athletic Park erected

1960 Highest recorded population of 2,380

1987 High School burned

1990

The regional high school, Lac qui Parle Valley, began classes Madison, Milan,

Appleton and Marietta built a 7-12 school in the country centrally located among the cities

D EMOGRAPHICS

This section assembles and analyzes the demographics of Madison and surrounding

communities Areas explored are population, households, employment, income, education, age, race and ethnicity Analysis of this data is important when making planning decisions for the City of Madison

Population

One of the most important aspects of developing a comprehensive plan is to determine what trends exist among the city’s population This should include information on past, current and projected population data The United States government conducts a census of the population every ten years and provides a reasonably accurate profile of communities and information on various housing, economic and social statistics for a community

The most important information to a city’s future is to determine how many residents it could potentially have To help determine this, historic population trends have been analyzed and projections have been developed to predict what the future may look like for the city

Projections conducted in this chapter are based on historic trends, however, a number of factors can impact the rate of growth a community experiences These factors include the rate of births, deaths, migration, annexed land, housing availability, waste treatment capacity, a city’s growth policies, housing costs, schools, ease of commuting to an employment center, a change in

economic situation and many other issues When analyzing the projections in this chapter, it is important to consider the factors listed above which could greatly impact Madison’s future population levels These projections should also be periodically updated to reflect any factors impacting the population

The economy of Madison and the surrounding area plays a large role in the demographic

changes Madison’s economy is rooted in agriculture Trends in agriculture have resulted in larger farms and fewer people farming the land that surrounds Madison As small family farms become scarce, the demand for non-agriculture jobs for residents increases

The following tables and figures provide data on population The bulleted information followingeach chart summarizes the data

NOTE ON THE CENSUS INFORMATION

The Federal Government conducts a thorough assessment of the country’spopulation once every ten years, referred to as the U.S Census Unless otherwisestated, information in this Plan was obtained from the U.S Census Bureau

 Madison’s population has decreased each decade since 1960.

 The City’s highest loss in total number of people was 261 during the 1980s

Summary

T ABLE 1.1

& F IGURE

1.1

 Madison experienced growth during the 1930s and the 1950s There was very little loss

in the 1940s

 Lac qui Parle County has experienced an overall population decrease since 1940

 Madison has lost only eight percent of its 1930 population, while Lac qui Parle County has lost 48 percent

Lake Shore Township 434 347 336 265 239 -195 -45%

Cerro Gordo Township 371 298 274 303 256 -115 -31%

Hamlin Township 374 306 296 215 185 -186 -51%

Arena Township 343 267 153 182 153 -190 -55%Totals 3,902 3,460 3,271 2,916 2,601 -1,301 -33%

Data from U.S Census

T ABLE 1.2 Summary

 Madison lost 26 percent of its 1960 population This was a lower percentage loss in population compared to the surrounding townships

TABLE 1.3 :

Population Comparison Since 1960 for Madison

& Neighboring Cities in Lac qui Parle County

City 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Change Change Percent

A NOTE ON POPULATION PROJECTIONS

A population projection is an attempt at providing a view of what the future population

could look like in the community Projections are an important tool for planning for the

future

This Comprehensive Plan uses three population projections that are based on Madison’s

historic population change: historic, slow and fast The historic projection is based on

Madison’s population change over the last 40 years The slow projection is 50 percent ofthe City’s historic population change The fast projection reveals what Madison’spopulation could be if population growth were to occur at a rate that brought the City back

to its 1990 population Although the area has experienced a declining population across theboard, it is important to be prepared for a reverse in this trend back to increasing populationnumbers It is reasonable to assume that if the population trends were to turn to populationgain, population numbers could possibly increase to their 1990 numbers over the next 20years The combination of the slow, historic and fast population projections provides areliable range of possibilities that could occur over the next 20 years

TABLE 1.4:

Madison’s 20-Year Population ProjectionsHistoric Populations 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Population change each decade N/A -138 -30 -261 -183

20-year Population Projections 2005 2010 2015 2020 ChangeHistoric Population Projection

Based on Last 40 Years 1,693 1,619 1,544 1,469 -299

Slow Change

Based on 50% of historic 1,731 1,693 1,656 1,619 -149

Fast Change

Based on population returning to 1990 1,814 1,860 1,905 1,951 183

Data from U.S Census

FIGURE 1.2:

Madison’s 20-Year Population Projections

T ABLE 1.4 & F IGURE 1.2 1.2 Summary

 From these projections, Madison’s population would be 1,469 in the year 2020 if

population change occurs in the City as it did from 1960 to 2000

1768

1731 1768

1814 1768

The number of households in a community can be equally as important as the actual population numbers The average number of people in each household has been rapidly shrinking over the last 40 years in Madison just as it has throughout rural Minnesota As a result, the population of

a community could be dropping rather quickly and yet the number of households remains the same The community is still the same size physically and still requires the same number of housing units and services to accommodate residents In some cases, the number of households

in a city may actually be increasing as the population decreases As a result, while most people would assume that fewer services are needed to accommodate fewer people, more services are needed for the additional households This happened in Madison from 1960 until 1980 As a result, while most people would assume that fewer services are needed to accommodate fewer people, more services are actually needed for the additional households

A NOTE ON HOUSEHOLD PROJECTIONS

Household projections in this Comprehensive Plan are determined in much the same way the population projections were calculated The U.S Census stated that Madison had 1,768

residents and 789 households in 2000 Table 1.6 illustrates household projections, which weredetermined by looking at the City’s historic change in households for the last 40 years If

historic trends continue, Madison will gain about three households every five years or 12

households in the next 20 years The slow change was determined by taking 50 percent of the historic trend This means that Madison would gain 1.5 households every five years The fast

change projection was determined by taking 150 percent of the historic rate of change This would mean that Madison would gain 4.6 households every five years

Determining the number of people who will be living in a community in 20 years is an

educated guess that is influenced by a number of factors Estimating the number of

households also involves making an educated guess as the actual number of households can begreatly influenced by a number of events Therefore, the projections in this Plan do not take into account many of the additional growth factors that can occur

TABLE 1.5:

Madison’s Household Projections Until 2020Historic Households 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Household change each decade N/A 36 94 -68 -37

Population change each decade N/A -138 -30 -261 -183

20-year Household Projections 2005 2010 2015 2020 ChangeHistoric Population Projection

Based on Last 40 Years 792 795 798 801 12

 The number of households has increased since 1960

 The average number of people in each household (average household size) has decreased every decade since 1960 This has been happening throughout rural Minnesota

 It is reasonable to plan for a moderate increase of six to 12 households in Madison by the year 2020

 Households have decreased since 1980

The availability and stability of employment will greatly affect Madison’s future It is vital for a community to have a healthy economic environment that can provide jobs for local residents,

attract new people to the community with employment opportunities, contribute to the tax base

and enhance a city’s image Equally important is the workforce available to employers

Employers need to feel confident that they will be able to hire the people needed

Commuting to work has become a much more common practice in today’s world The U.S Census collects data on travel time to work This information is very helpful in determining

what kind of job opportunities may be available in a community and the surrounding area

There is additional information on Madison’s major employers and the occupations of the City’s workforce in Chapter Two This information is useful when analyzing the employment climate

in Madison

TABLE 1.6:

Labor Statistics for Madison’s Workers 16 Years and Over from 1980 to 1990

(see definitions on next page)

Labor Characteristic 1980 1990 2000 change Total % change

% of Persons 16 Years and Over # change % change

% of Labor Force # change % change

Source: U.S Census