LRB 2691/2 -- OPT OUT OF SMART GROWTH (AGENDA 21)

The following proposal has a short time frame.

Please read and contact your legislator to indicate your support that allows communities to Opt-Out of Smart Growth

From:      Rep.WilliamsM 
Sent:       Thursday, September 29, 2011 3:09 PM
Subject:   NEW BILL - Allowing Opt-Out of Smart Growth

TO:         Legislative Colleagues

FROM:    Representative Tom Tiffany (and others)
DATE:     September 29, 2011

RE:     Co-sponsorship of LRB 2691/2 – Allowing Opt-Out of Smart Growth

SHORT DEADLINE:   Friday, September 30, 2011, 3pm

Our bill does two simple things:  It makes comprehensive planning optional; and it ends comprehensive planning grants.  Any comprehensive planning grants that have already been awarded, however, will continue to be provided under our bill.

In 1999, the legislature passed the comprehensive planning law, also known as “Smart Growth.”  Passage of this law was highly contentious, because it required all local units of government to develop comprehensive plans, which individually cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.  State and local taxpayers have been paying for the cost of these plans ever since, through local property tax dollars and state planning grants.

The plans are so costly because of the scope of required planning.  Local governments are required to include all of the following elements into their plans: Issues and Opportunities, Housing, Transportation, Utilities and Community Facilities, Agricultural, Natural & Cultural Resources, Economic Development, Intergovernmental Cooperation, Land-use, and Implementation elements. 

Adding to the complexity and expense of the planning process, each of these elements contain significant requirements and detailed research in terms of what must be included in the final plan.  Most importantly, once the comprehensive plan is in place, nearly all of the local government’s land use ordinances must be consistent with, or in compliance with, the overall plan.  In order to make certain ordinance changes, local governments will sometimes be forced to not only change their ordinances, but their comprehensive plans as well.  This is a lengthy, complicated and costly process, and delays a local government’s ability to quickly respond to certain issues when necessary.

Finally, the comprehensive planning law generally requires compliance by January 1, 2010, and a delayed implementation of January 1, 2012 for the communities that received extensions.  Although a majority of local governments have come into compliance, we are introducing this legislation to allow local governments to opt-out of the Smart Growth law, if they so choose.  This is important for several reasons: 

1) Although most communities have finished their plans, the comprehensive planning law will continue to inflict significant burdens on local governments and taxpayers into the future.  These burdens are financial, legal and time consuming. The bill saves state taxpayer dollars, to the tune of $2 million annually.  Future state and local taxpayer dollars will be saved as well. 

2) The comprehensive planning law includes requirements that nearly everyone agrees are good for local communities.  However, requiring these provisions is largely unnecessary, as many of these functions were, and will continue to be, met by locally elected officials.

3) The comprehensive planning law includes objectionable planning requirements.  For example, the law requires local governments to pick winners and losers in the economy, by identifying “desired” businesses and industries and ensuring that the local government designates “an adequate number of sites for such businesses and industries.”  The state will no longer be requiring these through the comprehensive planning law.

 
4) Finally, this bill does not repeal Smart Growth.  It simply restores local control by allowing communities to opt out if they so choose.  If communities opt out, they can still engage in zoning and other land use functions.

To sign on, please contact my office at 266-7506, or by responding to this email.  The deadline for Co-Sponsorship is this Friday at 3pm. 

Analysis by the LRB

Under the current law commonly known as the “Smart Growth” statute, if a city, village, town, county, or regional planning commission (local governmental unit) creates a development plan or master plan (comprehensive plan) or amends an existing comprehensive plan, the plan must contain certain planning elements. The required planning elements include the following: housing; transportation; utilities and community facilities; agricultural, natural, and cultural resources; economic development; land use; and intergovernmental cooperation.

Also under current law, unless certain conditions apply, beginning on January 1, 2010, certain ordinances enacted or amended by a local governmental unit that affect land use must be consistent with that local governmental unit’s comprehensive plan. The ordinances to which this requirement applies are official mapping, local subdivision regulation, and zoning ordinances, including zoning of shorelands or wetlands in shorelands. Also under current law, beginning on January 1, 2010, if a local governmental unit enacts or amends any of these specified ordinances, the comprehensive plan must contain at least all of the required planning elements.

Under this bill, a local governmental unit is authorized to repeal its comprehensive plan. Correspondingly, the ordinances that under current law must be consistent with a local governmental unit’s comprehensive plan must, under the bill, be consistent with the local governmental unit’s comprehensive plan only if the local governmental unit has a comprehensive plan in effect.

Under current law, the Department of Administration provides grants to local governmental units to assist in financing the cost of planning activities. This bill eliminates this grant program.

For additional information, please contact Senator Glenn Grothman’s office, Jolene Churchill, Jolene.Churchill@legis.wisconsin.gov

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