Comprehensive Plans
In 1999, Wisconsin enacted legislation that expanded the scope and significance of comprehensive planning in the State. The legislation, sometimes referred to as the State’s "Smart Growth" law, provides a framework for developing and updating comprehensive plans by regional planning commissions and county, city, village, and town units of government. The law is set forth in Section 66.1001 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
The Commission has prepared the following information to assist county and local governments with comprehensive planning:
Although the Commission lacks the resources to prepare comprehensive plan updates for all the nearly 150 local governments in the Region, we can be of assistance to any community preparing a plan update. Staff will provide available data to communities on request, and will also provide comments on draft plans, plan elements, or other plan materials on request.
Although the State’s comprehensive planning law requires a 10-year update, there is no guidance on the scope or content of plan updates. Each local government should determine the scope of its local plan update.
A community’s existing comprehensive plan may already include guidance on the timing and process for updating the plan and should be reviewed to help determine the scope of the plan update. A county or local government that has made periodic amendments to its plan may also want to consider, with its attorney, whether those periodic amendments could meet the plan update requirement of Section 66.1001(2)(i).
The Commission has prepared the following sample forms (i.e., public notices, resolutions, and ordinances) to assist with comprehensive plan updates. Where applicable, alternative or additional text a community may wish to consider are shown in [brackets and italics]. Also where applicable, where “Village” appears in italics, “City,” Town,” or “County” may be substituted; where “Village Board” or “Village Board of Supervisors” appears in italics, “City Common Council,” "Town Board," or "County Board" may be substituted; and where “Village President” appears in italics, “Mayor,” Town Chair,” or “County Board Chair” may be substituted. Explanatory information or comments noted in (parentheses and italics) are provided for clarification purposes only and may be removed prior to adoption or approval. Note that these samples have not been reviewed by an attorney and municipal attorney review is strongly recommended.
Plan Amendments
Many communities have amended or are considering amendments to their comprehensive plans. Comprehensive planning law requires the same procedures for adopting a comprehensive plan to be used when the plan is amended. These include:
- Adoption of public participation procedures by the governing body
- A public hearing on the proposed amendment with a 30-day public hearing notice
- Adoption of a resolution by the Plan Commission approving and recommending adoption of the amendment by the governing body
- Adoption of the amendment by an ordinance by the governing body
- Distribution of the adopted amendment to adjacent communities and other interested parties
The Commission has developed the following sample amendment forms to assist in amending comprehensive plans. Where applicable, alternative or additional text/wording a community may wish to consider are shown in [brackets and italics]. Also where applicable, where “Village” appears in italics, “City,” Town,” or “County” may be substituted; where “Village Board” or “Village Board of Supervisors” appears in italics, “City Common Council,” "Town Board," or "County Board" may be substituted; and where “Village President” appears in italics, “Mayor,” Town Chair,” or “County Board Chair” may be substituted. Explanatory information or comments noted in (parentheses and italics) are provided for clarification purposes only and may be removed prior to adoption or approval. Note that these samples have not been reviewed by an attorney and municipal attorney review is strongly recommended.
Multi-Jurisdictional Comprehensive Planning Programs
Following enactment of the Wisconsin comprehensive planning law in 1999, the Commission offered to work with each of the Region’s seven counties to produce county comprehensive plan documents. Six counties conducted multi-jurisdictional planning programs to produce a county comprehensive plan and companion local plans for participating cities, towns, and villages.
Information on the county comprehensive planning programs is provided below. Note that many comprehensive plans have been amended and/or are being updated. Contact the county or local government directly if you require current comprehensive plan information.
Plan Implementation Ordinances and Maps
To help local governments implement regional plan recommendations, the Commission helps county and local governments produce zoning, land division, and official mapping ordinances and related map materials. Please contact us to request assistance or for more information. Planning guides, regulations, model zoning ordinances, and other useful information to aid local and county governments in their planning and zoning efforts can also be found on the Zoning & Ordinances page.