1997 Extraterritorial Plan Amendment, Town of Prairie du Sac, WI

1997 Extraterritorial Plan Amendment

Background

In 1980, the villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac and the Town of Prairie du Sac adopted a joint planning district , called an extraterritorial review area or ET for short. This area extends outside the village boundaries a mile and a half into the township. As a part of this joint planning effort, two extraterritorial review committees was formed-one for the Village of Sauk City and one for the Village of Prairie du Sac. Each committee consists of three members from the township and three members from each village. An extraterritorial plan and extraterritorial zoning districts, defining permitted and future uses, were developed as guidelines for implementation by the extraterritorial committees.

The original goals of the extraterritorial plan were to preserve agricultural development and to guide development to those areas that could best provide services and amenities within the ET area.

Over the intervening years the ET committees have met on an as needed basis to review zoning change requests in the ET area. Beginning in 1995, the ET committees began to meet on a more regular basis with the intent of reviewing and updating the current ET plan. This review was prompted by the joint development and adoption of a master plan by the Villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac.

Goals

The following goals were established for the ET update, many of which are similar to the original goals.

1. Continue to maintain an efficient and orderly growth pattern by requiring development to extend adjacent to the villages where infrastructure and services can be readily extended.

2. Limit nonagricultural interim uses in those areas closest to the villages and most likely to be annexed and developed.

3. Maintain the agricultural viability of those farmed areas in the ET area, particularly north of County Z and west of Highway 12.

4. Provide a future Highway 12 bypass option for the community.

5. Support the continuation of the airport and its future expansion as a recreational air facility.

6. Limit strip commercial development along Highway 12 and retain the option to provide for future widening along the existing corridor.

7. Provide for recreational open space corridor(s) linking the two communities.

8. Provide for limited residential development in that area north of the Village of Prairie du Sac along the Wisconsin River due to its high demand and current development.

Implementation

The goals of the plan update can be achieved by the following four measures:

Land Use Plan

The land use plan provides a guide for future development. Its purpose is to designate a compatible land use for the area as it develops. It is expected that as an area is annexed to one of the villages for development, it will be rezoned to a use conforming to the land use plan unless the plan is amended.

Zoning

The zoning designation defines the interim uses of property until such time as it is annexed into the villages for development and rezoned according to the land use plan. Those area closest to the villages are the most restrictive because of their imminent development. The more restrictive uses are applied so that a use will not inhibit or restrict the annexation and development of the parcel in conformance with the land use plan. Those areas further away from the village are less restricted because development is not expected for some time.

Official Mapping

The official map is used to designate and preserve adequate space for major highway corridor, recreational corridor, and airport expansion. These designations include a USH 12 westerly bypass, widening of USH 12 to four lanes along the existing corridor, a north/south recreational corridor, and extension of the current airport runway to the north.

Review Process

Requests for rezoning, conditional uses and signage within the ET area would come before the appropriate ET committee. The following process is to be followed on these requests:

o The request is submitted to the appropriate village clerk.

o The village clerk notifies the village board and convenes a meeting of the ET committee. Before the ET committee can take any action on the request, a public hearing must be convened at the expense of the party requesting the rezoning.

o The ET committee reviews the request in light of the adopted zoning and land use plan. If the request is in the A-P area, then the rezoning request should be denied. If it is in the A-H area, the request should also be denied unless it is to be rezoned as A-T for future development because there is not a sufficient inventory of A-T land. If the request is in the A-T area, and it is in conformance with the land use plan, then the committee can recommend approval conditioned upon annexation and extension of utilities by the village.

o If the ET committee approves a request, then it must go to the appropriate village board for a second public hearing after which the board must make the final decision of approval or denial. If the request is denied by the ET committee, it does not go to the village board.

o A request for conditional use must follow the same process. The request can be approved, approved with conditions or denied. Generally, only those uses permitted under the specific zoning designation are to be allowed. All approvals would require two public hearings, one before the ET committee and one before the appropriate village board. Any approval of a use not included in the zoning designation, must be proceeded by a change to the zoning code.

o All requests for signage in the ET area must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate ET committee. The review and approval standards and process would follow the sign code standards of each of the villages.

Enforcement of zoning, subdivision, and signage standards is the responsibility of the appropriate village which has ET jurisdiction. The township has the responsibility of enforcement of the building codes.