Waupaca County, Wisconsin, Comprehensive Planning
Waupaca County has a heritage of strong protection of its natural resources, including the Chain o'Lakes, numerous trout streams and the Wolf River. Coordinated local and county planning was required to preserve the county's natural heritage. Foth was retained to facilitate the Waupaca County Multi-Jurisdictional Comprehensive Plan beginning in 2003.
Foth developed the Waupaca County Comprehensive Plan in conjunction with the development of 33 local Comprehensive Plans, as well as facilitating the adoption of all 34 plans. All planning products were developed in accordance with Wisconsin's Comprehensive Planning Law.
Challenges:
- Obtaining funding for a massive project.
- Allowing each community to create a locally crafted plan while maintaining a coherent vision for the future of the county as a whole.
- Uniting 33 units of government to maximize the efficient use of planning resources.
- Blending and managing a team of planners and non-planners to serve as dedicated facilitators for each community.
- Providing enough flexibility within a single planning process to allow each community to work at its own pace.
Outcomes:
- Secured a $500,000 Comprehensive Planning Grant through Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
- Produced comprehensive plans for 33 communities
and the county at a fraction of the cost of producing these plans as individual projects.
- Leveraged local resources and expertise. Co-managed with client, personnel resources from UW-Extension, UW-Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education, Waupaca County Economic Development Corporation, and various Waupaca County Departments.
- Saved time by using a new software, "What If," a GIS-based interactive land use allocation model.
Designed a planning process to maximize local control of individual community plans.
- Followed a regional meeting process to foster intergovernmental cooperation and also allow each community to meet numerous times with their own facilitator/planner to develop their local plan.
- Received unanimous approval by the County Board.
