Author: MKornmann

Newsletter Date

Creating Our Future Today!

Volume 1, Issue 1

Burnett County Multi-Jurisdictional Planning Project
Burnett County
Village of Grantsburg
Village of Webster
Town of Anderson
Town of Dewey
Town of Daniels
Town of Jackson
Town of Siren
Town of Wood River
Town of Trade Lake
Town of Union
Town of Oakland
Town of Sand Lake
Town of Webb Lake

Inside this issue:

Cooperation Creates Coordination in Process	2
Why Comprehensive Planning	2
What has been accomplished so far	2
How You Can Get Involved	3
Next steps	4
Inside Story	5
Inside Story	6

Vision 2030

www.burnettcounty.com/compplan

Process and Accomplishments

The planning process is an effort that includes 14 units of government in order to develop a coordinated overall county-wide plan as well as incorporation of completed local plans to guide decision-making for the next several years. The Plans will satisfy State of Wisconsin Comprehensive Planning legislation requirements and will contain nine specific elements addressing: Issues and Opportunities, Housing, Transportation, Natural & Cultural Resources, Agricultural Resources, Utilities & Community Facilities, Economic Development, Intergovernmental Cooperation, and Implementation. The entire process including the adoption of the Plans at the county and local level is estimated to be completed prior to 2010.
The Burnett County Comprehensive Plan Committee (CPC) is leading the planning effort, which includes representatives from the County Board and each unit of government in Burnett County and the St. Croix Tribe of Chippewa Indians. UW-Extension Burnett County, County Departments and the Northwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission are assisting to establish a strong foundation for the planning process. County-wide efforts to date include:
Gathering of inventory of existing data and projecting trends to assist in decision making
Identifying and drafting for the county:
an overall mission, vision and values
strengths and weakness
issues and opportunities
goals and objectives for each major Plan element
policies and recommendations for each Plan element
Conducting focus groups to gather insight on specific elements and issues
Local planning processes have been facilitated through joint meetings of communities. These “cluster” meetings are a means to efficiently and effectively discuss issues and gather input at the local level. The participating towns and villages have been organized into two clusters based on geography: north and south. At every meeting, the communities convene as a large group for education and discussion of the major elements and

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Vision 2030

Volume 1, Issue 1

Public Information Meetings
Monday, April 6 6:00 pm
Siren H.S. Auditorium
And
Tuesday, April 7
1:30 pm
Room 165
B.C. Government Center

How You Can Get Involved

1. What is a comprehensive plan?
A comprehensive plan is a document that helps guide the type, location, density, and appearance of community growth and development, generally over a 20 year period. A comprehensive plan represents the goals, objectives, policies and intentions of the local government which adopts it. Comprehensive plans include policies and recommendations for several elements which together describe the physical, social, and economic development of the community including land use, transportation, housing, population, natural resources, cultural resources, economic development, agriculture, community facilities, utilities, and intergovernmental cooperation.
2. Why is Burnett County and its communities creating comprehensive plans?
Many of the communities within Burnett County have existing plans, while others do not. Burnett County has an existing Land Use Plan that is being updated in a coordinated effort with many of the local communities. The comprehensive plans are intended to protect public health, safety, general welfare, and community character. Each community has specific motives for creating a comprehensive plan as identified by their issues, opportunities and desires, but in general, they are creating a comprehensive plan to:
Lead to more consistent and defensible decision making on land development issues.
Obtain extensive public input.
Manage growth so that it does not occur in a haphazard pattern.
Obtain up-to-date information on growth trends.
Help the community to spend money wisely and grow effectively so that service costs do not result in an increasing tax burden on property owners.
Help preserve the character and natural resources of the community.
Meet state requirements for comprehensive planning.
3. Does my community have to comply with Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning law?
A qualified yes. The Comprehensive Planning law (66.1001 Wisconsin Statutes) requires all units of government that make decisions related to zoning, land division regulation, and official mapping to have a comprehensive plan by the year 2010. If communities want to continue to participate in these activities after 2010, then they must have a comprehensive plan under current law.
Attend regular County Planning Committee meetings, Cluster meetings, and local plan commission meetings and make comments during the public comments section of the agenda
Submit written comments to the CPC at:
Comprehensive Plan
7410 County Road K #107
Siren, WI 54872
Submit comments via the web site at:
www.burnettcounty.com/compplan
Attend public information meetings
Participate in surveys regarding the comprehensive plan
For more information contact:
Mike Kornmann, UWEX
715-349-2151
mike.kornmann@ces.uwex.edu

break into individual town and village groups for local strategizing and decision making when necessary. There have been two rounds of cluster meetings to date, with a total of six rounds planned for the project.
The process is carefully coordinated between the County Comprehensive Plan Committee (CPC) meetings and the local cluster meetings in order create feedback and validation between the county and local level. The CPC is building a framework of issues & opportunities, goals & objectives, and policies & recommendations – the results of which get delivered to the local communities prior to each cluster meeting as a guide for local decision making. Planning recommendations at the local level then get summarized for review by the CPC and the process continues ensuring a coordinated and integrated outcome.

Completed Plans

NR

Comprehensive Plan
Not required.

NR

NR

NR

Public Information Meetings Coming

Two public information meetings will be held in the county in the coming weeks. The purpose of these meetings in to update the public on the progress of the comprehensive planning committee’s work and to get feedback on the direction of the plan completed to date. The public information meetings will be held on Monday, April 6, 2009 at the Siren School Auditorium. The second meeting will be held on April 7, 2009 at 1:30 pm at the Burnett County Government Center in Room 165.
The meeting will begin with a presentation and will be followed up with a question and answered period. County staff as well as the planning consultant will be presenting. Opportunities for the public to submit written comments to the planning committee will be made available.

Vision 2030

Volume 1, Issue 1

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Frequently Asked Questions

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4. Does Burnett County have to comply with Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning law?
Yes. Burnett County administers a general zoning ordinance, a subdivision ordinance, and shoreland zoning. The Comprehensive Planning law (66.1001 Wisconsin Statutes) requires each of these to be consistent with a comprehensive plan. Shoreland zoning is a state mandated program that must be administered by counties, so even if it no longer administered general zoning or land division regulations, Burnett County would still need a comprehensive plan.
5. Will a plan be law, or just guidance?
Until the year 2010, the recommendations of a comprehensive plan will be advisory to community decision making. After 2010, the consistency requirement of the Comprehensive Planning law will take effect. This will require that all zoning, land division, and official map related decisions made by a community are consistent with applicable policies and recommendations of its comprehensive plan.
6. Can the plan be changed after it is adopted?
A comprehensive plan may be changed from time to time after adoption. Plan changes may be in response to changing conditions or additional information. Under the state’s Comprehensive Planning law, the technical process used to change the plan once adopted must be the same as the process used to initially adopt the plan. At least one public hearing must be held and formal action must be taken by the unit of government. A comprehensive plan will need to be updated at least once every 10 years. Frequent amendments to accommodate specific development proposals should be avoided, or else the plan becomes meaningless.
7. How will the plan be used after it is adopted?
A comprehensive plan should not just sit on the shelf after it is adopted. Comprehensive plans will be used as guidance for decision makers like a Town Board, Village Board, City Council, or Plan Commission. Some examples of decisions that will involve a comprehensive plan include:
Review of proposed developments
Rezone requests
Conditional use requests
Annexation requests
Subdivision plats
Local ordinance changes
County ordinance changes
Assessing community housing needs
Coordinating community services
Making community investments
Evaluating requests for expanded services
Timing physical improvements

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More FAQ’s

8. How will Burnett County’s plan interact with the community plans?
The statutes require that village plans are incorporated without change into a county plan. The relationship between county and town plans is more complicated. In reviewing approaches for the integration of local land use plans with the Burnett County Comprehensive Plan, the preferred alternative selected was named the “Sideboard Approach.” In the Sideboard Approach, the county plan content is developed with both county and local responsibilities in mind. Provisions in areas of overlapping authority are general enough to provide flexibility, but specific enough to provide direction for county decision makers. The county provisions establish sideboards, or outer limits within which any number of alternative local plans may be compatible. Graphically, the Sideboard Approach might look like this. The Sideboard Approach is not a “top down approach” to county level planning. The County Planning Committee does not support the idea that Burnett County would create a county level plan that is independent of the local plans. Such an approach would be inconsistent with the commitment that Burnett County made to provide a locally driven planning process. The Sideboard Approach to the county plan will include many interrelationships with the local plans and will avoid conflicting provisions in areas of overlapping authority. On the other hand, the Sideboard Approach is not a “patchwork quilt approach,” meaning that the county plan will not accept without question every land use decision or recommendation made at the
local level. The Core Planning Committee saw the wisdom of creating checks and balances and the need for critical thinking when making complex decisions.
9. What will happen if communities do not adopt a comprehensive plan?
The immediate impact will be that decision makers will be forced to continue to make land use decisions without the benefits of having a comprehensive plan. If communities have not adopted a comprehensive plan by 2010 and continue participating in the land use decision making activities discussed above, they do so at a risk. While the statutes identify no specific penalty for failing to adopt a plan, community actions relative to land use will be vulnerable to legal challenge by any aggrieved party. It is also likely that state aids and grant programs will include incentives for communities with comprehensive plans in the future. Eligibility for such funds may be lost for communities without a comprehensive plan.
10. What is the difference between planning and zoning?
A comprehensive plan attempts to define community goals based on a combination of scientific data, the desires of the public, and the wishes of private property owners. Included among its recommendations is a preferred land use map. This advisory map expresses desires for future land uses for all properties in the town. After a unit of government adopts a plan, it should be put in motion, or implemented. Zoning is one tool that may be used to implement a plan. Different zoning districts may be mapped to realize the community land use desires previously expressed in the planned land use map.
12. What does “comprehensive planning” get confused with “smart growth?”
“Smart Growth” is a term used to describe a set of land use planning policies that result in the concentration of growth and development into compact urban areas. Rural areas are then reserved for productive land uses like farming, forestry, and mining. The goals of these policies are to minimize the public infrastructure costs (sewer, water, roads, services) that are required to accommodate growth while protecting the viable extraction of natural resources. Unfortunately, the term “Smart Growth” has been inaccurately used to describe Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning law. Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning Law contains some elements of “Smart Growth,” but also differs in many ways. Like Smart Growth, Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning Law includes the goals of protecting natural resources and productive lands. But it does not require development to take place in urban areas, it does not establish standards for development densities, and it does not require boundaries to be placed on growth areas. The most substantial aspects of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Planning law are the establishment of the topics that communities must address (the 9 planning elements), and the requirement of the use of public participation. However, it does not dictate how those topics are addressed or what the communities’ policies are. These decisions are in the hands of the communities developing the plans.

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FAQ’s

Zoning is not the only tool that can be used to implement the comprehensive plan. Education, incentives and intergovernmental agreements are viable tools also.

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Selected Draft Goals by Element
See complete list draft list at www.burnettcounty.com/compplan
Issues and Opportunities
Goal 1: Balance appropriate land use regulations and individual property rights with county government interests and goals.
Goal 2: Maintain, preserve, and enhance the county’s rural atmosphere, natural resources, open spaces, and small urban centers, and protect Burnett County’s overall sense of community.
Housing
Goal 1: Facilitate opportunities for an adequate housing supply that will meet the needs of current and future residents to have access to a full range of housing choices for all income levels, age groups, and special needs.
Economic Development
Goal 2: Attract, retain, and expand quality businesses and industries that will improve the employment and personal income base of the County.
Transportation
Goal 1: Provide for a Safe, Efficient, and Environmentally Sound Transportation System which, through its location, capacity, and design, will effectively serve the existing land use development pattern and meet anticipated transportation demand generated by existing and planned land uses.
Agriculture, Natural, and Cultural Resources
Goal 1: Maintain the viability, operational efficiency, and productivity of the county’s agricultural resources for current and future generations.
Goal 3: Preserve the natural and scenic qualities of lakes and shorelines in the County.
Goal 9: Preserve significant historical and cultural lands, sites, neighborhoods, and structures that contribute to community identity and character.
Goal 10: Strengthen opportunities for youth in Burnett County including youth-oriented activities and facilities and additional job opportunities.
Community and Utility Facilities
Goal 3: Ensure proper disposal of wastewater to protect groundwater and surface water resources.
Land Use
Goal 1: Guide the efficient use of land through a unified vision of planned growth in recognition of resource limitations and County goals and objectives.
Intergovernmental Cooperation
Goal 1: Foster the growth of mutually beneficial intergovernmental relations between Burnett County and other units of government.
Implementation
Goal 1: Promote consistent integration of the comprehensive plan policies and recommendations with the ordinances and implementation tools that affect Burnett County.

Comprehensive Plan—Vision 2030
County of Burnett
Www.burnettcounty.com/compplan

7410 County Road K #107
Siren, WI 54872

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