 SMART
GROWTH - Land Use Issues
Sprawl & Farmland
Over 8,000 acres of rural lands have been
converted out of farmland in the past four years in Sheboygan & Washington
Counties. Some of this development occurred on prime agricultural
soils.
 Smart Growth planning can identify the most appropriate places
for development and promote strategies that will preserve farmland.
This map shows the haphazard pattern of non-farm development
in a rural area township, much of it in conflict with the Farmland
Preservation Plan. Parcels in purple and red underwent development
in the past 100 years (parcels in red during the last 30 years
of that 100-year time frame).
Smart Growth planning promotes more control over development
patterns.
"Growth at all costs," without regard to aesthetics,
the environment, fiscal impacts, and compatibility will backfire
in the long run when new businesses begin to avoid an area where
unattractive development, pollution, high taxes, and conflicting
uses are common.
Smart Growth encourages growth that is attractive, environmentally
friendly, fiscally responsible, and harmonious with existing
uses.
Urban Decay
 The vitality and attractiveness of cities are threatened by
vacant lots and deteriorating structures. Sites may also be contaminated,
which makes them even more costly and challenging to redevelop.
Smart Growth targets blighted areas for "infilling," an
excellent way to use existing land and infrastructure for new
development, reducing pressures on lands at the urban fringe.
Housing
 Housing issues in many areas include The Four A’s:
- Is there enough affordable housing for various incomes?
- Are there plenty of choices and units available?
- Is existing
housing accessible to all age groups and those with special
needs?
- Is the average age of the local housing stock a concern?
Smart Growth planning can help inventory an area’s existing
housing stock and initiate policies that will encourage developers
to address various needs.
Depending on which projection you follow, the United States'
population by 2050 is expected to increase from between 46% to
91% (from current 275 million to between 403 million and 525
million). Fueled mostly by immigration, demand for affordable
housing is certain to skyrocket.
Such a trend, which indicates dramatic growth and intense demands
on local land and infrastructure, makes Smart Growth even more
essential.
Transportation
 What will be the impact of the widening of a
local highway? Transportation’s
impact on land use is hotly debated. Some say new roads drive development, others
contend the opposite.
Smart Growth strives to integrate state, regional, and local
transportation plans into a unified plan that takes land use
impacts into account.
Unplanned development strains existing infrastructure. Traffic
exceeds road capacity and short-handed police departments are
unable to enforce speed limits. The result is more accidents.
Smart Growth strives to steer growth to areas where existing
infrastructure is able to handle it.
 Use Conflicts
Side-by-side incompatible uses are stressful to all
involved. Conflicts in urban areas are a major reason city
dwellers move away in search of country lots.
"Mixed use" areas must rely on extensive landscaping
and buffering to be successful.
 The green areas have been identified as Environmental Corridors
(wetlands, floodplain, steep slopes), which are sensitive to
development. The red spots indicate unsewered, non-farm development
that has occurred in the last 30 years. Clearly, new development
is attracted to environmentally sensitive areas.
Smart Growth planning identifies sensitive areas and seeks to
plan accordingly.
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