Dunn County committee launches 16–18 month update of county comprehensive and farmland preservation plans

Dunn County’s Planning, Resources and Development Committee officially kicked off an update of the county comprehensive plan and the county’s farmland preservation element on Feb. 5, saying the effort will run roughly 16 to 18 months and emphasize public participation.

“Today, we're officially kicking off the comprehensive plan process,” West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission planner Susan Badke told the committee, outlining a schedule of surveys, six focus groups, town meetings and a public hearing before the committee and county board.

The update will combine the county’s comprehensive land use plan with its farmland preservation plan, as required under Wisconsin law, Badke said. The commission will work with county planning and land conservation staff to assemble nine statutory plan elements (issues and opportunities; housing; transportation; utilities and community facilities; agricultural, natural and cultural resources; economic development; intergovernmental cooperation; land use; and implementation) and to prepare engagement materials and a draft for committee review.

Badke said the team will use a mix of online and mailed surveys: a general public web survey, city/village and town surveys mailed to local officials, and a mailed farmland-owner survey (targeted to owners of roughly 30+ acres). She said the farmland-owner survey may be delayed slightly to allow an initial agricultural focus group to inform question design.

Committee members discussed local priorities to guide the plan: balancing farm preservation and rural character with housing and workforce needs; road, bridge and culvert maintenance; water quality protection; large-livestock operations and manure handling; and intergovernmental coordination between towns, villages and the city. Several members emphasized the county’s aging population and workforce-recruitment concerns as issues the plan should address.

Badke described engagement mechanics: seven committee meetings, outreach to the Wisconsin Towns Association unit, a project web page and handouts, and a timeline intended to produce a draft for the committee’s review and a subsequent public hearing before submission to the county board for adoption by ordinance.

Committee chair Tom Quinn and members asked staff to review prior plan materials and local town plans for consistency and to provide town-level breakdowns of survey findings where sample sizes permit. Badke said she will circulate a draft of the public survey for committee comment before it is posted and will work with county staff on mailing lists and promotion.

The committee did not take formal policy action at the meeting; members tasked staff with advancing the outreach schedule and returning survey results and visioning materials at the next committee meeting.

The county will continue monthly committee review of the plan chapters, focusing at future meetings on housing, transportation and the agricultural/farmland-preservation element. Badke said the farmland preservation chapter will look at ag-economic development, conservation practices, tax-incentive tools (agricultural preservation zoning and ag enterprise areas), and how those tools interact with land-use choices made by towns and the county.