Board adopts comprehensive plan, zoning map and updated floodplain rules after limited public input

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors on July 8 adopted a package of planning and zoning measures: amendments to the county comprehensive plan and farmland-preservation land-use map, multiple official zoning-map changes requested by the Town of Ixonia, and an updated county floodplain ordinance reflecting the most recent Wisconsin DNR model ordinance.

Planning and Zoning Committee materials presented to the board said the committee considered petitions at public hearings held May 15 and June 19, 2025, and found the statutory criteria in Wisconsin Statutes section 91.48 and Jefferson County Zoning Ordinance section 22.56(b) were met. The comprehensive-plan amendment was processed under Wisconsin Statutes section 66.1001 and Chapter 91, per packet language.

Committee members and staff told the board public participation was limited: staff reported "very little" turnout at hearings and only a few inquiries. A supervisor noted he had constituent opposition regarding a rezoning in the Ixonia area but those constituents did not appear at the hearing. The committee reported one landowner opposed rezoning of three parcels that were excluded from the final map.

Ordinances were approved by voice vote. The floodplain ordinance repeal-and-replace updates definitions and expands rules, with most substantive changes tied to regulation of campgrounds in mapped floodplain areas; the planning staff said fiscal impact is not determinable.

Ending: Planning staff and committee chairs said the changes are intended to concentrate buildable land near villages and sewer districts while preserving farmland; specific development plans (streets, turn lanes, utilities) would be reviewed at the project permitting stage.