EMPLOYMENT CAMPUS DISTRICT.
Madison General Ordinances § 28.087
in effect28.087 - EMPLOYMENT CAMPUS DISTRICT.
(1) Statement of Purpose.
The EC District is established to provide an aesthetically attractive urban working environment intended to promote desirable economic development activities, including high-technology, research and development, testing, and specialized manufacturing establishments, as well as professional offices and business incubators. The district is also intended to:
(a) Encourage compact development, primarily with multi-story buildings.
(b) Encourage mixed-use development in appropriate locations.
(c) Provide readily accessible services for employees.
(d) Improve pedestrian, bicycle and transit connections to and through employment campuses.
(e) Encourage building and site design that advance the City's sustainability goals.
(f) Maintain and improve the quality of the natural landscape within employment campuses.
(g) Provide appropriate transitions to surrounding land uses.
(h) Facilitate preservation, development or redevelopment consistent with the adopted goals, objectives, policies, and recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan and adopted neighborhood, corridor or special area plans.
(i) Facilitate development with multiple buildings.
(2) Permitted and Conditional Uses.
See Table 28F-1 for a complete list of allowed uses within the employment districts.
(3) Dimensional Requirements, Permitted and Conditional Uses.
Requirements represent minimums unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are in feet unless otherwise noted.
Employment Campus District
Site area | 5 acres
Front yard setback | 0' or 5' 0' if the distance between the curb and property line is equal to or greater than 15'. A no-build easement may be used to achieve the 15' distance. 5' if the distance between the curb and property line is less than 15'. See (a) below
Street side yard setback | 0' or 5' 0' if the distance between the curb and property line is equal to or greater than 15' or shown on the Setback Exceptions Map. A no-build easement may be used to achieve the 15' distance. 5' if the distance between the curb and property line is less than 15'. See (a) below and Downtown Setback Map and Setback Exceptions Map.
Side yard setback | 10; 0 if sharing a common wall with a building on an adjacent lot
Rear yard setback | 10; 0 if sharing a common wall with a building on an adjacent lot
Maximum lot coverage | 85%
Minimum floor area ratio (FAR) | 0.35 (See (c) below)
(a) Front Yard Setback. At least fifty percent (50%) of the building facade facing the front property line shall be located within thirty (30) feet of the front lot line. For corner lots, the side street shall be treated as a front yard.
(b) Exclusive Residential Use. Buildings with exclusively residential uses shall meet the Lot Area, Lot Width, and Side Yard Setback requirements of the TR-V2 District, Sec. 28.047.
(c) For phased development, the minimum FAR for the first phase shall be 0.20. Area used for multi-site or regional stormwater management or for low-impact stormwater management methods shall not be counted as part of the floor area ratio calculation.
(4) Site Standards.
The following standards apply to new buildings and additions exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the original building's floor area.
(a) Parking Placement. For the Single-Family Attached, Small Multi-Family, Large Multi-Family and Courtyard Multi-Family Building Forms, parking shall not be located between any street and the plane of the principal building's corresponding street-facing facade. If located on the side of the building, surface or structured parking shall occupy no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the frontage along the primary abutting street. For Large Multi-Family Buildings, structured parking at ground level shall not be visible from the front facade of the building.
(b) For all Building Forms other than (a) above accessory off-street surface parking lots and loading berths, and access driveways shall be located, designed and improved so as to provide for safe and convenient access from adjoining streets, as well as safe and convenient circulation within the site. Access driveways and surface parking lots shall be separated from principal pedestrian walkways and recreational areas by pavement markings, curbs, planting areas, fences or other appropriate materials to ensure pedestrian safety. Off-street surface parking lots shall not be located in required front yards or street side yards on corner lots, but may be located in required rear yards to the rear of a building or in an interior side yard beyond the larger of the required front yard or the actual front setback. A surface parking lot containing not more than ten (10) parking spaces may be located to the front or side of a building, but not in any required front yard or in the required street side yard on a corner lot unless shown on an approved master plan for the district. If approved by the Architectural Design Committee, a surface parking lot containing more than ten (10) parking spaces may be located the front or side of a building, but not in any required front yard or in the required street side yard on a corner lot. Any surface parking lot located in a required side or rear yard shall be located not less than twenty (20) feet from any lot in a Residence or Special District. Access driveway shall be designed and located so that such driveways do not provide a direct unlandscaped view from the street to the loading berths or storage areas. A plan for tree islands and surface parking lot landscaping shall be included with the landscape plan required in sub. (5)(a) below. Off-street surface parking shall be located at least ten (10) feet from any property line and/or right-of-way and utilize a landscape buffer than includes trees, shrubs, decorative fencing, benches, flowerbeds, ground covers, or other high-quality materials. For every twelve (12) to fifteen (15) surface parking stalls in a continuous row, at least once canopy tree shall be required in an interior surface parking island pursuant to the requirements of Sec. 28.142 of these ordinances.
(c) Loading. All loading shall be from the rear or side of the building, but not facing an arterial street. Loading docks may be located in the rear yard, or a side yard facing a street that is internal to an EC district.
(d) All business activities shall be conducted within completely enclosed buildings, except for the following:
1. Off-street parking and off-street loading.
2. Drive-through windows. (Am. by ORD-24-00033, 6-3-24)
3. Bicycle-sharing facility.
4. Outdoor storage and outdoor display.
5. Temporary outdoor events.
6. Agricultural activities.
7. Composting.
8. Outdoor eating, cooking, and service areas associated with food and beverage establishments. (Am. by ORD-13-00178, 10-23-13)
9. Farmers' markets.
10. Outdoor recreation.
(e) Access to the employment campus shall be from a collector or arterial street.
(f) In addition to the requirements in Sec. 28.142, all lots shall be landscaped, including the provision of canopy-type shade trees. Where possible, existing healthy trees, other than nuisance species, shall be retained. All land areas not covered by buildings, structures, storage areas, surface parking lots, loading areas and driveways, shall be landscaped and maintained. Landscaping shall mean decorative plazas, mounds, pools or the planting of grass, shrubs, trees and other plant materials or other comparable surface cover. To comply with the above provisions, a landscape plan shall be submitted and approved by the Director of the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development.
(g) All storage, except for storage of licensed operable vehicles, shall be within completely enclosed buildings or located to the rear of buildings and limited to a maximum of five percent (5%) of the total lot area. Outside storage shall be effectively screened with screening between six (6) and eight (8) feet in height. Storage shall not exceed the height of the screening. Storage and loading areas shall be screened from direct view from the street, including views down access driveways.
(h) Food and beverage uses shall only be located within a mixed-use building that includes office or other employment uses. (Cr. by ORD-14-00132, 8-13-14)
(5) Master Plan.
A master plan for each employment campus shall be prepared as part of any rezoning submittal. The plan must be approved by the Plan Commission and include the following:
(a) A site plan, including:
1. Conceptual plan showing lots and approximate building footprints, parking and service areas.
2. Landscape plan and landscape design standards.
3. Street layout and street design standards.
4. Signage and street graphics standards.
5. Stormwater management plan.
(b) Plan submittal and review procedures for individual sites within the campus.
(c) A parking plan, meeting standards of this chapter for automobile and bicycle parking.
(d) Reserved. (Rpld. by ORD-24-00001, 1-17-24)
(6) Design Review.
All buildings constructed within an EC district shall be reviewed and approved by an architectural review committee. The committee shall be established by the developer of the district and shall meet the following criteria:
(a) The building design review criteria, design standards and guidelines, review procedures, categories of membership, and the language of any deed or plat restriction must be approved by the Urban Design Commission. Design review shall not include the Dimensional Requirements in (8) below.
(b) Until an architectural review committee is established and approved by the Plan Commission, all building and site plans shall be reviewed and approved by the Urban Design Commission, with an appeal process to the Plan Commission as established in Sec. 33.24, MGO.
(7) Changes to Master Plan.
No alteration of an approved Master Plan shall be permitted unless approved by the Plan Commission, provided, however, the Zoning Administrator may, following consideration by the alderperson of the district, issue permits for minor alterations that are approved by the Director of Planning and Community and Economic Development and are consistent with the concept approved by the Common Council. If the change or addition constitutes a substantial alteration of the original plan, the procedure in Secs. 28.086 and 28.182 shall be required.
(Am. by ORD-21-00028, 3-30-21, Eff. 4-9-21; Am. by ORD-26-00001, 1-23-26) (Am. by ORD-24-00018, 3-20-24)
Source: City of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison General Ordinances (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wi/madison/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORMAWIVOIICH20--31_CH28ZOCOOR_SUBCHAPTER_28FEMDI_28.087EMCADIFetched: 11/1/2026