Monroe Street neighbors, Plan Commission at odds over development

Despite neighborhood opposition, the Madison Plan Commission has approved a conditional use permit for a mixed-use development at the corner of Monroe and Knickerbocker streets.

The project, from developer Fred Rouse and architect Randy Bruce, would replace an old gas station and an adjacent century-old bungalow with a 3½-story, 21-unit apartment building, ground-floor retail, and parking. Under the city’s new zoning rules, the project required only a conditional use permit, not a complete rezoning, which would have required the approval of the full City Council.

David Maraniss, a Washington Post reporter and author, owns a home adjacent to the site and has hired an attorney to fight the decision.