Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 66 - General municipality law.
66.1001 - Comprehensive planning.

66.1001 Comprehensive planning.
(1) Definitions. In this section:
(a) “Comprehensive plan" means a guide to the physical, social, and economic development of a local governmental unit that is one of the following:
1. For a county, a development plan that is prepared or amended under s. 59.69 (2) or (3).
2. For a city, village, or town, a master plan that is adopted or amended under s. 62.23 (2) or (3).
3. For a regional planning commission, a master plan that is adopted or amended under s. 66.0309 (8), (9) or (10).
(am) “Consistent with" means furthers or does not contradict the objectives, goals, and policies contained in the comprehensive plan.
(b) “Local governmental unit" means a city, village, town, county or regional planning commission that may adopt, prepare or amend a comprehensive plan.
(c) “Political subdivision" means a city, village, town, or county that may adopt, prepare, or amend a comprehensive plan.
(2) Contents of a comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan shall contain all of the following elements:
(a) Issues and opportunities element. Background information on the local governmental unit and a statement of overall objectives, policies, goals and programs of the local governmental unit to guide the future development and redevelopment of the local governmental unit over a 20-year planning period. Background information shall include population, household and employment forecasts that the local governmental unit uses in developing its comprehensive plan, and demographic trends, age distribution, educational levels, income levels and employment characteristics that exist within the local governmental unit.
(b) Housing element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs of the local governmental unit to provide an adequate housing supply that meets existing and forecasted housing demand in the local governmental unit. The element shall assess the age, structural, value and occupancy characteristics of the local governmental unit's housing stock. The element shall also identify specific policies and programs that promote the development of housing for residents of the local governmental unit and provide a range of housing choices that meet the needs of persons of all income levels and of all age groups and persons with special needs, policies and programs that promote the availability of land for the development or redevelopment of low-income and moderate-income housing, and policies and programs to maintain or rehabilitate the local governmental unit's existing housing stock.
(c) Transportation element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs to guide the future development of the various modes of transportation, including highways, transit, transportation systems for persons with disabilities, bicycles, electric scooters, electric personal assistive mobility devices, walking, railroads, air transportation, trucking and water transportation. The element shall compare the local governmental unit's objectives, policies, goals and programs to state and regional transportation plans. The element shall also identify highways within the local governmental unit by function and incorporate state, regional and other applicable transportation plans, including transportation corridor plans, county highway functional and jurisdictional studies, urban area and rural area transportation plans, airport master plans and rail plans that apply in the local governmental unit.
(d) Utilities and community facilities element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs to guide the future development of utilities and community facilities in the local governmental unit such as sanitary sewer service, storm water management, water supply, solid waste disposal, on-site wastewater treatment technologies, recycling facilities, parks, telecommunications facilities, power-generating plants and transmission lines, cemeteries, health care facilities, child care facilities and other public facilities, such as police, fire and rescue facilities, libraries, schools and other governmental facilities. The element shall describe the location, use and capacity of existing public utilities and community facilities that serve the local governmental unit, shall include an approximate timetable that forecasts the need in the local governmental unit to expand or rehabilitate existing utilities and facilities or to create new utilities and facilities and shall assess future needs for government services in the local governmental unit that are related to such utilities and facilities.
(e) Agricultural, natural and cultural resources element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs for the conservation, and promotion of the effective management, of natural resources such as groundwater, forests, productive agricultural areas, environmentally sensitive areas, threatened and endangered species, stream corridors, surface water, floodplains, wetlands, wildlife habitat, metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources consistent with zoning limitations under s. 295.20 (2), parks, open spaces, historical and cultural resources, community design, recreational resources and other natural resources.
(f) Economic development element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs to promote the stabilization, retention or expansion, of the economic base and quality employment opportunities in the local governmental unit, including an analysis of the labor force and economic base of the local governmental unit. The element shall assess categories or particular types of new businesses and industries that are desired by the local governmental unit. The element shall assess the local governmental unit's strengths and weaknesses with respect to attracting and retaining businesses and industries, and shall designate an adequate number of sites for such businesses and industries. The element shall also evaluate and promote the use of environmentally contaminated sites for commercial or industrial uses. The element shall also identify county, regional and state economic development programs that apply to the local governmental unit.
(g) Intergovernmental cooperation element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps, and programs for joint planning and decision making with other jurisdictions, including school districts, drainage districts, and adjacent local governmental units, for siting and building public facilities and sharing public services. The element shall analyze the relationship of the local governmental unit to school districts, drainage districts, and adjacent local governmental units, and to the region, the state and other governmental units. The element shall consider, to the greatest extent possible, the maps and plans of any military base or installation, with at least 200 assigned military personnel or that contains at least 2,000 acres, with which the local governmental unit shares common territory. The element shall incorporate any plans or agreements to which the local governmental unit is a party under s. 66.0301, 66.0307 or 66.0309. The element shall identify existing or potential conflicts between the local governmental unit and other governmental units that are specified in this paragraph and describe processes to resolve such conflicts.
(h) Land-use element. A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs to guide the future development and redevelopment of public and private property. The element shall contain a listing of the amount, type, intensity and net density of existing uses of land in the local governmental unit, such as agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial and other public and private uses. The element shall analyze trends in the supply, demand and price of land, opportunities for redevelopment and existing and potential land-use conflicts. The element shall contain projections, based on the background information specified in par. (a), for 20 years, in 5-year increments, of future residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial land uses including the assumptions of net densities or other spatial assumptions upon which the projections are based. The element shall also include a series of maps that shows current land uses and future land uses that indicate productive agricultural soils, natural limitations for building site development, floodplains, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive lands, the boundaries of areas to which services of public utilities and community facilities, as those terms are used in par. (d), will be provided in the future, consistent with the timetable described in par. (d), and the general location of future land uses by net density or other classifications.
(i) Implementation element. A compilation of programs and specific actions to be completed in a stated sequence, including proposed changes to any applicable zoning ordinances, official maps, or subdivision ordinances, to implement the objectives, policies, plans and programs contained in pars. (a) to (h). The element shall describe how each of the elements of the comprehensive plan will be integrated and made consistent with the other elements of the comprehensive plan, and shall include a mechanism to measure the local governmental unit's progress toward achieving all aspects of the comprehensive plan. The element shall include a process for updating the comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan under this subsection shall be updated no less than once every 10 years.
(2m) Effect of enactment of a comprehensive plan, consistency requirements.
(a) The enactment of a comprehensive plan by ordinance does not make the comprehensive plan by itself a regulation.
(b) A conditional use permit that may be issued by a political subdivision does not need to be consistent with the political subdivision's comprehensive plan.
(3) Ordinances that must be consistent with comprehensive plans. Except as provided in sub. (3m), beginning on January 1, 2010, if a local governmental unit enacts or amends any of the following ordinances, the ordinance shall be consistent with that local governmental unit's comprehensive plan:
(g) Official mapping ordinances enacted or amended under s. 62.23 (6).
(h) Local subdivision ordinances enacted or amended under s. 236.45 or 236.46.
(j) County zoning ordinances enacted or amended under s. 59.69.
(k) City or village zoning ordinances enacted or amended under s. 62.23 (7).
(L) Town zoning ordinances enacted or amended under s. 60.61 or 60.62.
(q) Shorelands or wetlands in shorelands zoning ordinances enacted or amended under s. 59.692, 61.351, 61.353, 62.231, or 62.233.
(3m) Delay of consistency requirement.
(a) If a local governmental unit has not adopted a comprehensive plan before January 1, 2010, the local governmental unit is exempt from the requirement under sub. (3) if any of the following applies:
1. The local governmental unit has applied for but has not received a comprehensive planning grant under s. 16.965 (2), and the local governmental unit adopts a resolution stating that the local governmental unit will adopt a comprehensive plan that will take effect no later than January 1, 2012.
2. The local governmental unit has received a comprehensive planning grant under s. 16.965 (2) and has been granted an extension of time under s. 16.965 (5) to complete comprehensive planning.
(b) The exemption under par. (a) shall continue until the following dates:
1. For a local governmental unit exempt under par. (a) 1., January 1, 2012.
2. For a local governmental unit exempt under par. (a) 2., the date on which the extension of time granted under s. 16.965 (5) expires.
(4) Procedures for adopting comprehensive plans. A local governmental unit shall comply with all of the following before its comprehensive plan may take effect:
(a) The governing body of a local governmental unit shall adopt written procedures that are designed to foster public participation, including open discussion, communication programs, information services, and public meetings for which advance notice has been provided, in every stage of the preparation of a comprehensive plan. The written procedures shall provide for wide distribution of proposed, alternative, or amended elements of a comprehensive plan and shall provide an opportunity for written comments on the plan to be submitted by members of the public to the governing body and for the governing body to respond to such written comments. The written procedures shall describe the methods the governing body of a local governmental unit will use to distribute proposed, alternative, or amended elements of a comprehensive plan to owners of property, or to persons who have a leasehold interest in property pursuant to which the persons may extract nonmetallic mineral resources in or on property, in which the allowable use or intensity of use of the property is changed by the comprehensive plan.
(b) The plan commission or other body of a local governmental unit that is authorized to prepare or amend a comprehensive plan may recommend the adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan only by adopting a resolution by a majority vote of the entire commission. The vote shall be recorded in the official minutes of the plan commission or other body. The resolution shall refer to maps and other descriptive materials that relate to one or more elements of a comprehensive plan. One copy of an adopted comprehensive plan, or of an amendment to such a plan, shall be sent to all of the following:
1. Every governmental body that is located in whole or in part within the boundaries of the local governmental unit.
2. The clerk of every local governmental unit that is adjacent to the local governmental unit that is the subject of the plan that is adopted or amended as described in par. (b) (intro.).
4. After September 1, 2005, the department of administration.
5. The regional planning commission in which the local governmental unit is located.
6. The public library that serves the area in which the local governmental unit is located.
(c) No comprehensive plan that is recommended for adoption or amendment under par. (b) may take effect until the political subdivision enacts an ordinance or the regional planning commission adopts a resolution that adopts the plan or amendment. The political subdivision may not enact an ordinance or the regional planning commission may not adopt a resolution under this paragraph unless the comprehensive plan contains all of the elements specified in sub. (2). An ordinance may be enacted or a resolution may be adopted under this paragraph only by a majority vote of the members-elect, as defined in s. 59.001 (2m), of the governing body. One copy of a comprehensive plan enacted or adopted under this paragraph shall be sent to all of the entities specified under par. (b).
(d) No political subdivision may enact an ordinance or no regional planning commission may adopt a resolution under par. (c) unless the political subdivision or regional planning commission holds at least one public hearing at which the proposed ordinance or resolution is discussed. That hearing must be preceded by a class 1 notice under ch. 985 that is published at least 30 days before the hearing is held. The political subdivision or regional planning commission may also provide notice of the hearing by any other means it considers appropriate. The class 1 notice shall contain at least the following information:
1. The date, time and place of the hearing.
2. A summary, which may include a map, of the proposed comprehensive plan or amendment to such a plan.
3. The name of an individual employed by the local governmental unit who may provide additional information regarding the proposed ordinance.
4. Information relating to where and when the proposed comprehensive plan or amendment to such a plan may be inspected before the hearing, and how a copy of the plan or amendment may be obtained.
(e) At least 30 days before the hearing described in par. (d) is held, a local governmental unit shall provide written notice to all of the following:
1. An operator who has obtained, or made application for, a permit that is described under s. 295.12 (3) (d).
2. A person who has registered a marketable nonmetallic mineral deposit under s. 295.20.
3. Any other property owner or leaseholder who has an interest in property pursuant to which the person may extract nonmetallic mineral resources, if the property owner or leaseholder requests in writing that the local governmental unit provide the property owner or leaseholder notice of the hearing described in par. (d).
(f) A political subdivision shall maintain a list of persons who submit a written or electronic request to receive notice of any proposed ordinance, described under par. (c), that affects the allowable use of the property owned by the person. Annually, the political subdivision shall inform residents of the political subdivision that they may add their names to the list. The political subdivision may satisfy this requirement to provide such information by any of the following means: publishing a 1st class notice under ch. 985; publishing on the political subdivision's Internet site; 1st class mail; or including the information in a mailing that is sent to all property owners. At least 30 days before the hearing described in par. (d) is held a political subdivision shall provide written notice, including a copy or summary of the proposed ordinance, to all such persons whose property, the allowable use of which, may be affected by the proposed ordinance. The notice shall be by mail or in any reasonable form that is agreed to by the person and the political subdivision, including electronic mail, voice mail, or text message. The political subdivision may charge each person on the list who receives a notice by 1st class mail a fee that does not exceed the approximate cost of providing the notice to the person.
(5) Applicability of a regional planning commission's plan. A regional planning commission's comprehensive plan is only advisory in its applicability to a political subdivision and a political subdivision's comprehensive plan.
(6) Comprehensive plan may take effect. Notwithstanding sub. (4), a comprehensive plan, or an amendment of a comprehensive plan, may take effect even if a local governmental unit fails to provide the notice that is required under sub. (4) (e) or (f), unless the local governmental unit intentionally fails to provide the notice.
History: 1999 a. 9, 148; 1999 a. 150 s. 74; Stats. 1999 s. 66.1001; 1999 a. 185 s. 57; 1999 a. 186 s. 42; 2001 a. 30, 90; 2003 a. 33, 93, 233, 307, 327; 2005 a. 26, 208; 2007 a. 121; 2009 a. 372; 2011 a. 257; 2013 a. 80; 2015 a. 391; 2019 a. 11.
A municipality has the authority under s. 236.45 (2) to impose a temporary town-wide prohibition on land division while developing a comprehensive plan under this section. Wisconsin Realtors Association v. Town of West Point, 2008 WI App 40, 309 Wis. 2d 199, 747 N.W.2d 681, 06-2761.
Sub. (2) (h) expressly requires a comprehensive plan to include a land-use element, which must include a compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps, and programs. Given that the statute requires a comprehensive plan to include land use maps, it would be unreasonable to conclude that a decision maker may not consider those maps when determining whether a proposed change is consistent with the plan. Lakeland Area Property Owners Ass'n, U.A. v. Oneida County, 2021 WI App 19, 396 Wis. 2d 622, 957 N.W.2d 605, 20-0858.
Sub. (3) (j) merely states that a county zoning ordinance “shall be consistent with" the applicable comprehensive plan. It does not expressly require a county to perform a “consistency analysis" before enacting a zoning ordinance. Lakeland Area Property Owners Ass'n, U.A. v. Oneida County, 2021 WI App 19, 396 Wis. 2d 622, 957 N.W.2d 605, 20-0858.
The use of the word “coordination" in various statutes dealing with municipal planning does not by itself authorize towns to invoke a power of “coordination" that would impose affirmative duties upon certain municipalities that are in addition to any other obligations that are imposed under those statutes. With respect to the development of and amendment of comprehensive plans, s. 66.1001 is to be followed by the local governmental units and political subdivisions identified in that section. OAG 3-10.

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