Suamico board endorses planning and zoning to lead 2026 comprehensive-plan update, forms subcommittee

Zoning Administrator Dunks told the Suamico Village Board on June 16 that the village and Brown County are preparing to contract for a 2026 comprehensive-plan update and that the first step is establishing how the review process will be organized.

Dunks said the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended taking the lead on the update, with other committees and commissions participating when chapters relate to their areas of responsibility. He said the proposal from Brown County as presented assumed Planning and Zoning would take the lead; a separate committee would require revisions to the proposal.

Trustees debated two broad approaches: (1) assign the work primarily to Planning and Zoning and make the comp-plan review a regular line item on that commission's agenda, welcoming public input by chapter; or (2) form a separate comprehensive-plan committee composed of commission and citizen representatives that would do the bulk of the chapter drafting and then forward recommendations to Planning and Zoning.

Trustees expressed interest in widening public participation but also emphasized accountability: several members said Planning and Zoning should remain the accountable body that delivers a recommendation to the board. Several trustees suggested a mixed approach: Planning and Zoning lead the process while a temporary subcommittee of Planning and Zoning include selected citizen representatives as voting members to provide broader public viewpoints without creating an entirely new, separate commission.

After extended discussion the board adopted a motion to solicit applicants from the public to serve on a Planning and Zoning comprehensive-plan subcommittee. The motion set the following parameters: the subcommittee will operate as a Planning and Zoning subcommittee, include additional citizen representatives, meet on scheduled Planning and Zoning evenings, and commit to a series of meetings (the motion as adopted specified a 12-meeting term, two hours per meeting, starting in September 2025). The board instructed staff to advertise the opportunity using the same methods the village uses to post agendas and meeting notices for a one-month period. Trustee Romas seconded the motion; trustees voted 7-0 in favor.

Dunks and staff also advised approving a contract with Brown County to secure the county's work in the 2026 update cycle; staff noted some communities were being moved to later cycles if Suamico did not confirm participation. At the meeting Trustee Romas offered a motion to approve the Brown County comprehensive-plan proposal; that motion was made on the record during the meeting excerpt provided (the transcript ends before a final vote on that motion appears in the record provided). Dunks told the board that much of the legwork could be done by village committees in advance to focus Brown County's time on review and public engagement phases.

Trustees and staff discussed logistics: because the subcommittee would be a planning body with voting members, minutes and agendas must follow open-meeting law; staff and Brown County will coordinate chapter sequencing so subject-matter committees (parks, public works, etc.) can review chapters pertinent to them before or during the Planning and Zoning process. Staff advised the board that the contract timing matters: Brown County's work is expected to begin in January 2026, so the village should confirm its participation to secure the schedule.