Our Priorities
We focus on what moves the needle: the policies, partnerships, and leadership that make housing more attainable in communities across South Central Wisconsin.
Whether it’s modernizing local ordinances, supporting housing-first candidates, or working with municipalities to reduce barriers, our advocacy is built around real, local solutions, and not partisan talking points.
Our work is grounded in four key priorities:
Housing Supply
We support policies and leaders who make it easier to build more homes because strong communities need enough homes to welcome everyone.
Affordability
We fight for solutions that keep housing costs within reach so families, workers, and seniors aren’t priced out of the communities they call home.
Stronger Communities
Housing policy isn’t just about units and zoning, it’s about building places where people can thrive. We advocate for smart, long-term growth that supports schools, neighborhoods, and local businesses.
Pro-Housing Leadership
Local elections shape housing policy. That’s why we back leaders, regardless of party, who prioritize housing, cut through red tape, and focus on real solutions.
These priorities guide everything we do from endorsements and polling to local policy advocacy. As housing challenges evolve, our focus remains constant: building a future where everyone has a place to call home.
We were proud to support the City of Madison’s “2025 Housing Forward” Proposals.
Madison’s strength comes from its people: the teachers, firefighters, bus drivers, baristas, nurses, and mechanics who make it an incredible place to live and work. But when there aren’t enough homes in our city, these vital community members are priced out. If we want Madison to be a truly diverse city—culturally, racially, and economically—then the solution is clear: we must build more homes and prioritize affordability for our working residents. By offering a mix of homes in all sizes and prices, we create more opportunities for individuals to achieve homeownership, build wealth, and lay a strong foundation of economic security for their families and the future.*
Proposal 1: Allow duplexes, or twin homes, in all residential areas
This policy would allow a duplex, two-flat, or “twin home” on most residentially zoned lots throughout the City. Current City zoning limits or outright bans these choices in many neighborhoods.
These exclusionary zoning policies are part of what has led to not enough homes being available for people to live and work here. This proposal would take a 2023 policy change made in areas near high-frequency transit and apply it citywide.
Proposal 2: Allow more property owners with deep residential lots to split those lots, creating “Backyard Lots”
This policy would allow homeowners with a deep lot that is twice the required minimum lot size to split their lot into a front lot and a “backyard lot,” sometimes also called a “flag lot” due to its shape, where a home could also be constructed.
A homeowner with a deep residential lot could choose to divide their lot to create a backyard lot, provided they meet the necessary space requirements, including allowing for access to the street that is at least 10 feet wide. The resulting lots would also have to meet minimum lot size requirements. Any new homes built on the new lot would also still have to meet all of the zoning requirements, including how far buildings must be set back from the lot lines.
Proposal 3: Simplify the permit process for small and medium sized housing developments downtown
This proposal would raise the threshold for determining whether projects have to go through a “Conditional Use” permitting process (versus a standard process), which can both take longer and have a less predictable outcome. This change has already been made in many parts of the city.
This proposal would extend it to the downtown district and allow more projects to move through the standard permitting process, which would create more consistency with the thresholds in other parts of the city and create more certainty for smaller and mid-sized projects. All projects would continue to receive urban design review.