|
Comprehensive Plan Updates
Fifteen years have passed since the adoption of Wisconsin's Comprehensive Planning Law (Wis. Stats. 66.1001) requiring every governmental jurisdiction that regulates the use of land through a land division ordinance, shoreland zoning ordinance, general purpose zoning ordinance, or official map to have an adopted comprehensive plan in place by January 1, 2010. Also, as part of the State Statute requirements, a comprehensive plan must be updated at a minimum of every 10 years.
If your community has gone a decade, or are nearing the 10-year update requirement, without conducting a formal amendment of the adopted local comprehensive plan, we would highly recommend doing so within the next year or so. Most updates will likely include census/demographic data, changes to community facilities, transportation maps, land use maps; and need to see whether or not the vision statement, goals, objectives, policies, and programs are still relevant. Also, during the process of updating your comprehensive plan, it would be a good time to acknowledge any accomplishments since the plan was originally adopted.
Having facilitated the completion of over 100 comprehensive plans for various government entities, Commission staff have that valuable knowledge and experience to assist your community with an efficient update to its comprehensive plan. Please contact Brandon Robinson at the Commission for additional information.
|
|
Just a few remaining... Get your free Love Lake Michigan T-shirt and Pint Glass!
Take the pledge to Love Lake Michigan at LoveLakeMichigan.org, send an email to let us know, and get a t-shirt AND pint glass. That's it!
|
|
Open Commissioner Positions
 There are three commissioner vacancies on the Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission. We are seeking interested individuals who reside in Kewaunee, Marinette, and Florence counties to serve 6-year terms on the Commission. These positions are filled through Governor appointment with input from each of the individual counties. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Commissioner, as well as the application process, please contact Richard Heath. |
Workshops for Planning and Zoning Officials
The Center for Land Use Education (CLUE) at UW-Stevens Point continues to provide a series of workshops for planning and zoning officials on a variety of topics and held at a number of locations around the state. In early 2015, two workshops have already been scheduled: January 5th - Changes in Tax Incremental Financing (TIF); and February 2nd - Wisconsin Legislative Preview. For more information, visit the CLUE website and click on the calendar of events. |
|
Sheboygan MPO Update
Commission staff continues to prepare the Year 2045 Sheboygan Area Transportation Plan (SATP). Most recently, Commission staff has been in the process of preparing draft Chapter 6 (Transportation and Land Use) and has started to prepare draft Chapter 7 (Recommended Transportation Plan). Commission staff has also started the process of collecting data for draft Chapter 8 (Mitigation of Environmental Impacts of Major Transportation Projects) and draft Chapter 9 (Financial Plan).
Members of the Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees reviewed the performance of the street and highway network in 2045 under the three land use scenarios developed for the Year 2045 SATP at their November 20, 2014, joint meeting. Members of the MPO advisory committees selected Scenario #1 (Continuation of Existing Trends) as the land use scenario to carry forward in the long-range transportation plan development process. Scenario #1 was selected because it closely mirrored development projections in the various comprehensive plans completed for the cities, villages and towns in the Sheboygan metropolitan planning area and elsewhere in Sheboygan County.
Members of the Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees also suggested capacity modifying projects to test with the travel demand forecast model at their November 20, 2014, joint meeting. The list of projects tested with the model in the last plan update was reviewed first (many were confirmed for retesting, while a couple projects were dropped), then members of the MPO advisory committees suggested a few new projects for testing.
The public comment period on the draft Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning Area Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Calendar Years 2015 - 2018 runs through December 11, 2014. The Sheboygan MPO Technical and Policy Advisory Committees will give final review to the 2015 - 2018 TIP at their joint meeting on December 11, 2014, and the Commission is expected to take final action on the document on December 12, 2014. The final 2015 - 2018 TIP is scheduled to be distributed in mid December. Please contact Jeff Agee-Aguayo for additional information.
|
|
Dairy 20 x 20 Grants Available
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is now accepting applications for the next round of Dairy 20x20 grants. Farms looking to innovate could use the grant money to cover the costs involved with business planning, financial analysis, farm transition planning or farm transfers. Projects such as designing new milking parlors, robotic milking systems or waste-handling systems would qualify for the grant. Applications are due to DATCP by January 15, 2015. Application materials and more information are available on the DATCP website.
|
 New USDA Grant Program
USDA Rural Development will begin administering a new grant program on January 1, 2015. The Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program and the Rural Business Opportunity Grant (RBOG) program are being combined to create a new
Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. The rules for this new program are currently being written with an anticipated publication date later this fiscal year. For more information, please contact Kristin Peterson at USDA or visit the USDA website.
|
|
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. |
