The public participation plan for regional planning, two supplemental documents related to this plan, and a public agency consultation plan used for the Commission’s transportation planning and programming efforts, are described below.
The Commission is responsible for planning at a regional level regarding land use, transportation, and other elements of public works and facilities—such as parks, sanitary sewerage, water supply, and storm water management—for the seven counties in Southeastern Wisconsin. Public participation has been an essential part of the planning process conducted by the Commission over the 50-plus years of its existence. The public participation process that the Commission uses in its regional planning efforts is summarized in a document entitled, "Public Participation Plan for Regional Planning for Southeastern Wisconsin." This document was prepared to serve as an encompassing yet easy-to-use reference for the public, complementing the previously available public participation plan used for the Commission’s transportation planning, which is described below.
The process outlined in public participation plan is based on the Commission's public participation goals to ensure early and continuous public notification about its regional planning programs and activities, and in so doing, provide meaningful information with opportunities to achieve participation and input. The public participation plan outlines the methods the Commission will use in the conduct of its regional planning, such as preparation of study newsletters and brochures, giving presentations and briefings whenever and wherever convenient for groups, ongoing comment opportunity during study efforts, making meetings of the Commission and its advisory committees open to the public, updating the website, and holding public meetings, among other items. The plan recognizes that there are different and sometimes growing levels of planning involvement upon which people often focus. Thus, the public participation methods used by the Commission as outlined in the plan, are intended to be flexible to encourage involvement in whatever way is desired and convenient.
As described in the plan document, the Commission will continue to pursue public outreach opportunities, particularly with minority and low-income populations. In addition, the effectiveness of the Commission’s public participation process will be regularly evaluated, and any necessary improvements will be made to the plan when beneficial.
The Commission has also prepared a document entitled, "Public Participation Plan for Transportation Planning Conducted by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission," which serves as an appendix to the more general public participation plan, providing more detail with respect to the Commission's regional transportation planning and programming activities. As the regional planning agency and Metropolitan Planning Organization for Southeastern Wisconsin, the Commission is required under Federal law to prepare and update from time-to-time a formal public participation plan focusing on transportation activities. The appendix document includes specific measures to be used in the evaluation of the public participation process used for the Commission's transportation planning and programming, and other regional planning efforts.
To help simplify and condense the contents of the two public participation documents discussed above, the Commission has produced a summary brochure entitled, "Public Participation in Regional Planning for Southeastern Wisconsin".
In addition, the Commission has a regional transportation consultation process which documents the Commission’s coordination of its transportation planning and programming efforts with agencies and officials within the Southeastern Wisconsin Region who are responsible for other planning activities affected by transportation such as the Wisconsin Departments of Transportation and Natural Resources, transit operators for public and other transit services, Indian tribal governments, and Federal environmental and land management agencies. This staff memorandum outlining the Commission's regional transportation consultation process is briefly referenced in the public participation plan appendix.