 WHAT WILL YOUR COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE?
Who will guide the future of your community?
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Local residents?
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Government officials?
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Developers?
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Farmers?
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- Corporations?
- Advocacy groups?
- Area youth?
- Recreational Landowners?
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With Planning
- Local government is allowed to prepare for public service needs and associated costs.
- Residents are given an opportunity to discuss and direct the future of their community.
- The community explores alternatives that will guide it in a preferred direction.
- Government officials and developers are shown the location and types of development that are wanted by the community.
- Plan implementation may restrict how you use your property and how your neighbors use their property.
Without Planning
- Local government may have to react to public service crises resulting from unanticipated development or change.
- The future 'just happens' to a community rather than the community guiding its own future.
- Without guidance from the community through a plan, decisions that affect your land are determined by the opinion of government officials, other residents and outside interests.
- There may be fewer restrictions on the use of your property, and your neighbors are not restricted from using their property in ways that may affect you.
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Check
Developing a successful
plan can be a challenge, because there is a need to balance
conflicting views and needs.
Plans take time
and money. The plan will need to be updated to keep up with
a changing world.
Planning will
not provide an solution to every issue; however, the planning
process can model a course of action for resolving unforeseen
issues.
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Planning vs.
Zoning
Planning
describes how the community would like to develop
based on the existing and anticipated conditions, and describes
how to get there. A plan is a guide that can be implemented
through a combination of methods including: education, incentives,
regulation, acquisition and self-initiation.
Zoning
is one of many regulatory tools used to implement a plan.
It describes what can and can't be done on a particular
parcel of land. |
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Planning Legislation
In October, 1999,
the Wisconsin Legislature passed a new law related to planning
termed "Smart Growth." This new law elaborated on Wisconsin
's 1928 and 1967 definitions of a plan. It includes a
list of the nine elements that make up a comprehensive plan.
It also outlines plan adoption procedures and requires
that, beginning January 1, 2010 , any program or action
of a local government unit that affects land use must be
consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan. |
9 Elements of
a Plan
By law, these
9 elements are to be addressed in the comprehensive plan:
- Issues and Opportunities
- Housing
- Transportation
- Utilities and Community Facilities
- Agricultural, Natural and Cultural Resources
- Economic Development
- Intergovernmental Cooperation
- Land Use
- Implementation
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LOCAL PLANNING EFFORTS
Many Marathon County municipalities have adopted comprehensive plans which meet the requirements of the recent state planning legislation. The Marathon County Board adopted the County Comprehensive Plan on May 23, 2006. Plan implementation at the county level is led by the county’s Environmental Resources Committee.
The Marathon County Conservation, Planning and Zoning (CPZ) Department is hosting a series of educational meetings around priority topics for implementation. Learn more about the
Comprehensive Planning >>>
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