Planning Guides and Model Ordinances
SEWRPC educational efforts include the preparation and publication of SEWRPC planning guides. Planning guides are intended to constitute manuals of local planning practice. The goal is to improve the overall quality of public planning within the Region and thereby promote sound community development, properly coordinated on a Region-wide basis. The guides discuss basic planning and plan implementation practice, contain examples of good planning practice, and provide local governments with model ordinances and forms to assist them in their everyday planning efforts.
These guides deal with:
The following model ordinances are available (see below for zoning related ordinances):
Word versions of the above ordinances and examples of recent ordinances are available on request. A copy of the model land division ordinance that shows changes made between 2001 and 2016 is also available on request.
Zoning Ordinances and Zoning Guide Update
SEWRPC has begun work on an update to its Zoning Guide. Materials prepared as part of the update will be posted here as they are completed:
- Agricultural District Regulations
- Community Living Arrangements (CLAs)
- Nonconforming Uses and Structures
- Planned Developments
- Signs
- Model Sign Ordinance (Content-Neutral as required by 2015 Supreme Court decision in Reed v. Gilbert)
- Shoreland and Floodplain Zoning
- Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinances
Note: These Ordinances address primarily stormwater quality (pollutant reduction) and not necessarily stormwater quantity during large rainfall events.
- Wind Energy Systems and Mobile (cell) tower siting regulations.
- Rules of Procedure
Landscaping Guides and Invasive Species Eradication
Plant Selection Guide for Landscaping
Plant selection guides can help the public and site developers select plants for development and redevelopment sites. These guides can also assist local Plan Commissions and staff when reviewing site plans and landscape plans submitted by developers. SEWRPC, in consultation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin Extension, has developed lists of plants that are suitable for, and available in, the Southeastern Wisconsin Region. (more)
Open Space Subdivision Design
Open space subdivision design, sometimes referred to as cluster development design, involves the grouping of dwellings on a portion of a development parcel in order to preserve the remainder of the parcel in open space. Management options for the open space areas include, among others, preservation of existing natural features, restoration of natural conditions, and agricultural use. The open space may be owned by a homeowners association, a county or local government, the State, a land trust or other nonprofit conservation organization, or the original landowner. Conservation easements and deed restrictions should be used to protect the common open space from future conversion to more intensive uses, and the local or county government with primary responsibility for approving the subdivision should require submittal of a Stewardship Plan for restoration and maintenance of common open space areas.
In comparison to conventional subdivision designs, open space subdivisions afford greater opportunity for preserving open space and maintaining the natural resources of the parcel being developed. When properly designed, the visual impact of new residential development from surrounding streets and adjoining parcels can be minimized and significant natural features and/or agricultural lands can be protected from development. Public infrastructure maintenance costs may be reduced due to shortened street and utility lengths.
An "open space subdivision," also referred to as a “cluster development,” is defined by SEWRPC as a housing development characterized by compact lots and permanently preserved open space, where the natural features of the site are retained to the greatest extent possible. SEWRPC recommends that a minimum of 60 percent of the net site area be set aside as open space in open space subdivisions in unsewered (rural) areas and a minimum of, desirably, 40 percent of the net site area be set aside as open space in sewered (urban) areas. The net site area is defined as the gross tract area minus all street and utility rights-of-way existing prior to development.
Although the term “conservation subdivision” is also used to refer to housing development characterized by compact lots and preserved open space, Randall Arendt, one of the leading proponents of conservation design and author of several books on the subject, has recommended that the term “conservation subdivisions” be used only to describe subdivisions in rural (unsewered) areas at relatively low housing densities that set aside a significant amount of open space (60 to 75 percent open space, including a portion of “unconstrained” land that would otherwise be developable due to the absence of wetlands, floodplains, or other constraints). Section 66.1027(1)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes defines a conservation subdivision as “a housing development in a rural setting that is characterized by compact lots and common open space, and where the natural features of land are maintained to the greatest extent possible.” Although the Statutory definition does not specify a minimum percentage of open space, it does describe conservation subdivisions in terms of rural development. SEWRPC therefore uses the more general term “open space subdivision” to refer to housing development that clusters housing units to help preserve open space on a development site, which can include development in both urban and rural areas. Initial SEWRPC publications on the subject use the term “rural cluster development” because they focused on open space subdivisions in rural areas.
SEWRPC has produced the following publications about rural cluster development/open space subdivisions:
Several county and local (city, village, and town) governments in the Region have adopted regulations that would accommodate open space subdivisions. A summary of these regulations is provided on the following table. Note that not all of the county and local government regulations comply with SEWRPC recommendations for open space subdivisions, including recommendations for the minimum percentage of open space to be set aside and the requirement for Stewardship Plans for common open space.
A summary of ordinance requirements for open space subdivisions adopted by county and local governments in Southeastern Wisconsin (May 2008).
Comprehensive Planning (“Smart Growth”)
In 1999, the Wisconsin Legislature enacted legislation that expanded the scope and significance of comprehensive plans within the State. The legislation, often referred to as the State’s "Smart Growth" law, provides a modified framework for the development, adoption, and implementation of comprehensive plans by regional planning commissions and by county, city, village, and town units of government. The law is set forth in Section 66.1001 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
See Comprehensive Planning page for more information.