Sauk County 20/20

Introduction and Process

Although Sauk County possesses a diverse economy, it has historically been known as an agricultural area. Therefore, the county's zoning and subdivision ordinances were created to function for this rural setting and did so adequately in the 1970's and 80's. In recent years however, increased residential building activity in the county raised questions about the effectiveness of these existing ordinances.

It became a consensus among citizens and public officials that rapid change was occurring in the county. Among the most telling trends included:

• The county's population reached 52,334 persons in 1997, which was an 11.4% increase from 1990 and a 33% increase since 1970
• The number of county land use permits issued in the 1990's more than doubled the 1980's rates
• Since 1970, over 50,000 acres of land have left agricultural production
• The Wisconsin Department of Transportation proposed a 4-lne expansion to portions of US Highway 12 within and into the county.

In 1994 in order to address these changes and their future impacts, the county board and administrative leadership decided that the county should consider an overall strategy on land use and development. Sauk County then contracted with a graduate seminar from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Department of Urban and Regional Planning to complete an analysis and framework for planning in the county.

In May of 1995, the students presented their report to the Board of Supervisors. The students recommended that the county undertake a comprehensive planning process and presented several options for completing this massive task.

At its October 1995 meeting, which considered the upcoming budget year, the Sauk County Board of Supervisors approved a planning position for the Sauk County Department of Planning and Zoning. This individuals' primary role would be to serve as the project manager for a county development planning process. It was determined that this planning process should be formed and facilitated by county staff, rather than using an external planning consultant. It was envisioned that this "in-house" approach would promote county proprietorship of the planning document and lead to its successful implementation.

It was the goal of this plan, once completed, would serve as the framework for updating the county's zoning and subdivision ordinances and perhaps introduce new land use management tools.

In July of 1996, the staff summarized county trends and reasons for county planning in
Volume I: Final Plan Proposal (see link below). This document discusses recent trends in population and agriculture, describes in general the proposed county planning process and the merits for land use planning.

The staff then created Volume II: Final Work Plan (see link below). In this volume the Sauk county 20/20 planning process is formally introduced and detailed. The Final Work Plan includes a discussion about the formation of a citizen's advisory committee and its representation, a timeline for completion of the planning process and a listing of information and issues to be analyzed and addressed.

This document was used by the staff at four quadrant meetings held in September of 1996 to introduce the Sauk County 20/20 planning process and gain input from meeting attendants on the issues that should be addressed with the process including: community change, economic development, farmland preservation, housing, natural resources and transportation. In addition, those 150 people who attended the meetings were invited to become a member of the citizen's advisory committee.

On November 12, 1996, through Resolution #182-96, the Sauk County Board of Supervisors officially appointed the members of the 23-person citizen's advisory committee (CAC). This committee was charged with making recommendations for the Sauk County 20/20 Development Plan.

In addition to this citizen's committee, the county also established a technical committee to provide assistance to the CAC, known as the technical advisory and review team (TART). Members of the team included state and county staff persons, and local environmental and economic development representatives. The purpose of the TART was to review and comment upon the CAC's work, identify information sources and other technical resources and serve as a liaison to county and state governments. The TART did not draft any of the plan's policies, but provided technical guidance throughout the planning process.

In May of 1997, in order to gauge county resident's opinions of land use issues, a countywide telephone survey was conducted. The statistically significant survey selected 435 random households, which was representative of all households in the county. The survey was indicative of people's opinions about county land use and provides an excellent information resource, used by the CAC to deliberate policies and programs. The results of the survey are detailed in Volume III: County Phone Survey (see link below).

Besides the quadrant and citizen's committee meetings and the telephone survey, the staff created and mailed a Sauk County 20/20 newsletter to each of the county's 31,000+ mailing addresses. The newsletters provided information about the planning process, updated residents on citizen's meetings and indicated the dates for future 20/20 meetings.

In September of 1997, the staff completed Volume IV: The County Profile (see link below). This document is meant to serve as a planning resource to the CAC, elected officials and all Sauk County residents. The purpose of this profile is to illustrate where the county has been, where it is now and where it is expected to go in the future.

In September of 1998, the staff presented the CAC's work at the third round of county quadrant meetings. The 160 people who attended these meetings learned about the Sauk County 20/20 visions, goals and policies and two innovative approaches at managing county growth.

The fruits of the 20/20 planning process are quite staggering:

• Over 70 meetings held during the two year process, attended by over 1,000 people
• Five editions of the Sauk County 20/20 Plan newsletter distributed to all of the county 31,000+ mailing addresses
• A county survey conducted on 400+ households to gauge countywide opinions
• A profile document that details much of Sauk County's vitals'
• An awareness and understanding about Sauk County, its future trends and a knowledge about the complexities of the land use debate
• Increased efforts by local units of government, including towns/cities/villages, to create and/or update development plans to address their communities changing needs.