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Record of Proceedings

Fitchburg Housing Committee Explores Land Banking RFP and Housing Developments on October 13, 2025

Common Council & City Boards — Monday, October 13, 2025
BodyFitchburg, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & City Boards
DateMonday, October 13, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:43

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Hi, I'm Jeremy Progby, and I'm Nick Boucher.

0:02

We're your hosts for the program that's all about your city, Talking Fitchburg.

Speaker 2

0:06

Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Fitchburg.

0:12

Find

Speaker 1

0:12

Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web.

0:18

Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service.

Speaker 2

0:23

This is your city.

0:24

Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors.

Speaker 3

0:30

Want to know what's happening in your city?

0:32

Get notify me messages from the city of Fitchburg.

0:35

Visit Fitchburg WI.gov on your computer or mobile device and select the big notify me button on the left.

0:41

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0:46

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0:51

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0:54

Sign up for Notify Me.

0:56

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Speaker 4

1:23

Laureen, could you do uh call to order, please?

1:26

Or roll call.

Speaker 5

1:28

Absolutely.

1:28

Thank you.

1:29

Uh Olivia Peary.

1:32

Brian Shimming.

1:35

Brian McKee.

Speaker 6

1:36

Here.

Speaker 5

1:38

Godwin.

1:40

Jenny Sanders.

Speaker 7

1:43

Here.

Speaker 5

1:44

Marshall Mertens.

Unassigned speaker

1:50

Okay,

Speaker 8

1:50

I see that you are here,

Speaker 5

1:51

Marshall.

1:52

Okay.

1:53

Mallory.

Speaker 4

1:55

Here.

Speaker 5

1:56

Michelle Bozeman.

1:59

Gabriela.

2:00

Here.

2:02

Okay.

2:02

All done.

Speaker 4

2:04

Wonderful.

2:05

Um we have next is our agenda item approval of the minutes.

2:10

Can I have a motion to approve the minutes, please?

Speaker 8

2:13

So moved.

2:15

Second.

Unassigned speaker

2:16

Okay,

Speaker 4

2:17

we have a second.

2:18

Any comments and or questions as it relates to the minutes.

Speaker 9

2:22

Yeah, this is Marshall.

2:24

In line uh in the approval of the minutes from the previous.

2:29

What is that?

2:30

Line.

2:32

Line three, approval of uh the past minutes.

2:36

My name is misspelled.

Speaker 4

2:38

Sorry about that.

Speaker 9

2:40

That's okay.

2:41

It's spelled correctly everywhere else.

2:43

There you go.

2:43

I'm sure it's autocurrent.

2:45

Thank you.

2:46

Thanks, Marshall.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████65%
Public Engagement█████████████████25%
Procedural███████10%
Summary of Proceedings

Fitchburg Housing Committee Meeting Summary - October 13, 2025

The Fitchburg Housing Committee met on October 13, 2025, to discuss housing initiatives, focusing on developing RFPs for land banking and acquisition, and received a staff report on major development projects.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the previous meeting's minutes was granted unanimously after a correction was made for a misspelled name (Marshall).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • None.

Discussion Items

  • Housing Report from Staff: Laureen reported on several projects. Notable updates include: the Funders Forum on November 13; the Lido Apartments pilot project (114 units with 10% workforce at 60% median income); Bowman Plaza (270 units); Fawcite property (320 market-rate apartments); and the Homes-Boberschmidt plat submission.
  • Land Banking RFP Discussion: The committee split into two groups to review RFPs from River Falls (Land Banking) and Verona (Acquisition).
    • Land Banking Group: The group agreed that land banking RFPs should strictly focus on vacant land, separating preservation into another RFP. They recommended specifying housing types and using internal GIS staff rather than external consultants to evaluate criteria and prevent land price speculation. A need for a blight ordinance was discussed.
    • Acquisition Group: The group focused on partnership strategies. Mallory recommended separating acquisition methodologies from holding strategies, such as using held land for community gardens or pop-ups to generate income. Partnerships with community land trusts and Habitat for Humanity, leveraging city funds for matches, were discussed.

Key Outcomes

  • Staff (Laureen) will incorporate committee feedback into a revised draft of the land banking and acquisition RFP for review by CEDA and City Council.
  • The next committee meeting is scheduled for December 8, 2025.
  • The city was awarded a $600,000 CDBG infrastructure grant applicable to acquired sites.

Meeting Transcript

Hi, I'm Jeremy Progby, and I'm Nick Boucher. We're your hosts for the program that's all about your city, Talking Fitchburg. Every weekday, we pull together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Fitchburg. Find Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web. Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service. This is your city. Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors. Want to know what's happening in your city? Get notify me messages from the city of Fitchburg. Visit Fitchburg WI.gov on your computer or mobile device and select the big notify me button on the left. Enter your email and or phone number, whichever is best for you to get notifications. Scroll down the list and select all the topics you're interested in to receive email or text messages about. You'll be notified every time one of your topics is updated. Sign up for Notify Me. One more way to keep up with your Fitchburg government. Laureen, could you do uh call to order, please? Or roll call. Absolutely. Thank you. Uh Olivia Peary. Brian Shimming. Brian McKee. Here. Godwin. Jenny Sanders. Here. Marshall Mertens. Okay, I see that you are here, Marshall. Okay. Mallory. Here. Michelle Bozeman. Gabriela. Here. Okay. All done. Wonderful. Um we have next is our agenda item approval of the minutes. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes, please? So moved. Second. Okay, we have a second. Any comments and or questions as it relates to the minutes. Yeah, this is Marshall. In line uh in the approval of the minutes from the previous. What is that?

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