WTA Position on Land Use

WTA Position on Land Use

Encourage sound land use planning by giving every
Wisconsin resident an equal voice in shaping their communities

The Wisconsin Towns Association supports effective and comprehensive land use planning in every community. Town leaders are determined to avoid the higher public costs and reduced quality of life that often accompanies bad land use decisions. Town officials also recognize the obvious -- the only way to effectively plan Wisconsin communities is to plan together.

Wall-to-Wall Plans: Every town, village, city and county should develop and implement a comprehensive land use plan. The new Smart growth law provides a sound framework for this process.

Integrated Plans: These plans should be vertically (e.g., county/town) and horizontally (e.g., city/town) integrated to promote desirable regional and local land use patterns.

Equal Voice for All: The 1.5 million Wisconsin residents who live in towns should exercise the same voice in land use matters (both directly and through elected representatives) as their city and village cousins.

Equal County Jurisdiction: To the extent that county governments exercise land use planning and regulatory powers, their jurisdiction should be equal in all parts of the county.

Discourage Sprawl: Towns, cities and villages should agree on zoning in boundary areas and no zoning change should be made by a city or village affecting annexed land for 10 years following the annexation without the consent of the affected town board.

Encourage In-fill: In-fill development in Wisconsin's urban areas should be promoted, including urban brownfield reinvestment, if comparable investments are made to protect productive farmland and sensitive natural resources.

Keep it Democratic: State and federal agencies should delegate substantive land use regulatory authority only to elected bodies, which should exercise such power only within their jurisdictional boundaries.

WTA Land Use Vision at 1996 Meeting
More Information About Brownfields
WTA Position on Annexation
WTA Position on Transportation
WTA Position on State Aid Payments
WTA Position on Home Rule
WTA Policy Goals