Committee to Overhaul County Zoning Ordinance

February 05, 2016
County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan, 608.333.2285
County Board

Resolution to Rewrite Land Use Code in Response to Pending State Legislation

The Dane County’s Zoning and Land Regulation (ZLR) Committee will appoint a subcommittee to lead a comprehensive revision of the way the County regulates land use, under a resolution approved unanimously by the County Board at its February 4th meeting.

The resolution comes as the Wisconsin State Legislature considers legislation, supported by the Dane County Towns Association, that would allow towns within Dane County to opt out of County zoning.

“It makes more sense to work together at the local level than to get the state involved,” said County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan. “Working together with the towns, we can craft a new zoning ordinance that addresses their changing needs.”

“Regardless of the state intervention, we are committed to performing a comprehensive rewrite of the zoning ordinance in tandem with our stakeholders,” said Supervisor Patrick Miles, Chair of the ZLR. “It underscores our commitment to our continued partnership with Dane County Towns in thoughtful planning of land use that respects our strong farming economy while balancing demands of a growing population. The zoning ordinance was written primarily to manage agricultural land use. We recognize that there are some towns that are transitioning to more suburban land uses.  A comprehensive re-write gives us the opportunity to recognize those changes in land use and adjust our zoning code accordingly.”

The seven-member subcommittee will include at least one representative each from the Zoning and Land Regulation Committee, the Environment Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, town government, area builders and realtors, and the agricultural community.

The subcommittee is specifically charged with studying the current ordinance, including consideration of work completed in recent reviews and identifying problem areas; conducting surveys, focus groups, and public meetings to gather broad public input on areas for improvement in the current ordinance; and working with the County’s Corporation Counsel to drafting a comprehensive revision of the ordinance for introduction to the County Board by September 2017.