MADISON (WKOW) — Over the past year, Edgewood High School’s efforts to add lights and a sound system to its athletic field has lead to discord between the neighborhood and the private Catholic school.
Neighbors fear the stadium would be loud and distracting, especially given how close it sits to homes. Edgewood said it just wants the same type of facility other Madison schools are able to offer their students and without lights, Edgewood can’t play night games.
Those additions would require a change to the Monroe Street school’s master plan, which the school developed alongside the neighborhood. Madison’s city council approved it back in 2014 and over the past year, it’s been a point of contention.
Edgewood was scheduled to begin that process in January but it pulled out of city proceedings because Edgewood officials said they couldn’t find a compromise. Then in February, the high school tried to seek permits for lights and sound system without amending the master plan. Neighbors filed a complaint about that and the school’s existing games.
In July, the city zoning board determined because of the way the master plan is worded, Edgewood isn’t authorized to play any games on its home field at all.
Now, just weeks away from the school’s first scheduled home game, the school is still at odds with neighbors about where that game should take place.
Alder Tag Evers represents the 13th district which includes Edgewood and its neighbors.
“There are a lot of heated emotions in the neighborhood tonight,” he said. “A lot of frustration and disappointment.”
Evers believes the best way for Edgewood and the neighborhood to reconcile would be for them to renegotiate the school’s master plan.
“If the goal is to rebuild trust in the community, a better approach would be to come back to the table, negotiate with the neighborhood in good faith,” he said.
Edgewood disagrees. The school threatened to sue the city for religious discrimination after the zoning board’s decision. In response, Madison’s city attorney recommended eliminating the master plan altogether.
Edgewood agreed, so Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway will introduce a resolution to do so at the Aug. 6 Common Council meeting.
In a statement, Edgewood’s attorney Matt Lee expressed the school’s support.
“We are thankful to the mayor for introducing an ordinance to terminate Edgewood’s master plan and allow our athletes to be treated the same as athletes from other schools in the city,” he said.
Evers believes this is the wrong move for his district as neighbors fear it opens the door for Edgewood to move its stadium plan forward without having to answer to neighbors.
“The master plan, involved four years of meetings and countless hours of negotiations with neighbors and to toss that all away unilaterally without input from the community, it just seems wrong to me,” he said.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, the mayor will introduce the resolution and council will move it to the Plan Commission. The Plan Commission will host a hearing on Aug. 26 and Evers said it won’t come before council for a vote until Sept. 3 at the earliest.
If the council does vote to terminate the master plan, Lee said Edgewood believes they’ll have the same right to upgrade and host games on their athletic fields as any other Madison high school.
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