 |
Providing opportunities and cooperative solutions to foster healthy and thriving communities
within the region.
|
|
An Economic Development District serving Northeast Wisconsin for over 45 years.
|
|
STAFF
Cindy Wojtczak
Executive Director
Jeffrey Agee-Aguayo
Transportation Planner
Angela Kowalzek-Adrians
Natural Resources Planner
Office Accounts Coordinator
Brandon Robinson
Community Assistance Planner
Joshua Schedler
GIS Coordinator
Ext. 104
Madison Smith
Community Assistance Planner
Ext. 108
|
To submit a request for an EMSI Developer Query, please complete and submit this form:
|
|
|
|
|
E-NEWSLETTER VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7 / JULY 2017
|
New Intern at the Bay-Lake RPC
|
|
|
 We are delighted to welcome Ian Steuer as the Bay-Lake RPC's new intern! Ian will be assisting with trail inventory data collection as part of the Regional Bike and Pedestrian Plan for Northeast Wisconsin.
Ian graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Policy and Planning from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. He served as a GIS Intern for Brown County Planning, where he collected bike and pedestrian facility data for their 2016 MPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Update.
Ian has aspirations to contribute to the City of Green Bay providing greater utilization of mixed use housing in future developments and incorporating bike trail connectivity throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Ian enjoys playing guitar, lacrosse, and fishing on the Great Lakes.
|
State Announces $2.4 Million in Grants for Wisconsin's Coastal Communities
|
|
|
 The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) announces that it is awarding $2.4 million in grants for 34 coastal projects across Wisconsin. These grants will be used to protect and improve the natural resources, support the quality of life, and foster economic development in those areas.
Over $208,000 in WCMP grants for the following nine projects has been funded in the Bay-Lake Region (
recipient in bold):
- Lakeshore coastal recreation study done by the Bay-Lake RPC. The study will be for Kewaunee, Manitowoc and Sheboygan Counties.
- Twin Rivers water trail plan by the Bay-Lake RPC. The plan will create an inventory and assessment of all public access locations to the West Twin River and the East Twin River in Manitowoc County, and develop a plan for a water trail on the East and West Twin Rivers.
- Technical assistance for the Bay-Lake RPC. This will support coastal management activities and technical assistance to local governments in the Bay-Lake region.
- Accessible kayak/canoe launch in the City of Sheboygan. The project will construct an ADA accessible launch, trailer parking and walkways at Kiwanis Park on the Sheboygan River.
- Beach Park swim beach expansion in the Village of Egg Harbor. The grant will help develop design and engineering plans for expanding the public beach at Beach Park.
- Coastal resource management plan for Bradley Lake-Sturgeon Bay connectivity in City of Sturgeon Bay. The project will identify issues and opportunities for sediment removal, fishery restoration and habitat improvement.
- Outreach and education of Door Peninsula Coastal Wetland Ramsar site done by the Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department. The project will provide education and outreach to private landowners next to the site.
- Porte des Morts staircase in the Town of Liberty Grove. The money will help construct a staircase at Porte des Morts Park from the top of the bluff to the water below to provide safe, controlled access and enhance use of the park and Lake Michigan waters.
- Water quality indicators of human impacts on the wetlands of Door County done by The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin. The project will investigate potential links between nonpoint source pollution and wetland water quality and habitat health in five Door County wetlands.
Next year's grant application will be available the first week of August 2017. Additional information about the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program can be found at their website.
|
Status of Zoning Projects
|
|
|
 The Bay-Lake RPC is working on several zoning projects for communities in Kewaunee County and Oconto County. We are currently p
reparing updates to the general zoning ordinances for the towns of Casco, Luxemburg, Red River, and West Kewaunee in Kewaunee Cou
nty. These local zoning updates will be consistent with their respective comprehensive plan per s. 66.1001,
Wis. Stats.
and the Kewaunee County Farmland Preservation Plan. In addition, the zoning updates are necessary for each town to maintain a certified Farmland Preservation Zoning Ordinance under the requirements of Wisconsin's Working Lands Program (Ch. 91, Wis. Stats.). This will allow eligible land owners in each of the towns to collect Farmland Preservation tax credits if they so choose. The zoning ordinances for the aforementioned towns in Kewaunee County are expected to be completed this summer.
The Bay-Lake RPC is also nearing the final stages of development of an initial zoning code of ordinances for the Town of Brazeau in Oconto County. The town's code is expected to be completed in the next several months.
For any information regarding the aforementioned zoning projects, please contact Brandon Robinson.
|
Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
|
|
|
The Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees reviewed and recommended approval of the
Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission Title VI Program/Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan - 2017 Update at their joint meeting on June 29th. Commission staff will make minor adjustments to the document in July. The Commission is scheduled to take action on this document at the July 28th meeting of its Executive Committee.
Commission staff continues to work on the issue of highway safety performance targets for the Sheboygan metropolitan planning area. Commission staff analyzed fatalities and serious injuries resulting from crashes in calendar years 2006 through 2016, and also researched fatalities and serious injuries from crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians for those years. The information was used to develop average annual fatalities and serious injuries for the periods from 2006-2010 and 2012-2016. The information was presented to members of the Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committee at their joint meeting on June 29th. The crash data trends will be useful in determining whether the MPO will set its own highway safety performance targets or adopt WisDOT's statewide targets (or a combination thereof) by the deadline of February 27, 2018.
Commission staff will soon process administrative modifications to the
Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Area Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Calendar Years 2017-2020. The modifications include decreased costs for two street and highway projects, changes in cost shares (increased Federal funding and less local funding) for one street and highway project, and a change in scope to one bicycle and pedestrian transportation project (with sections of the project removed from the TIP becoming "illustrative projects" in the administratively modified TIP). The Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees consented to these modifications at their June 29th joint meeting.
Commission staff will soon kick off the update to the
Shoreline Metro Transit Development Program (TDP). The Commission is scheduled to approve the contract for the project at the July 28th meeting of its Executive Committee. In addition, a review committee for the TDP is being formed in cooperation with Shoreline Metro staff.
|
|
Upcoming Events/Meetings
|
|
|
BLRPC
Executive Committee Meeting
Green Bay
August 11, 2017
Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Manitowoc
|
|
Available Grant Opportunities
|
|
|
The following is a list of upcoming grant opportunities and their due dates. Please contact the
Commission if you have a project idea, or need assistance with preparing or administering a grant, or if you are interested in partnering with the Commission on a project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
