2. PLANNING GRANTS TO LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENT [LFB Paper 949]
SEG $2,000,000
Governor: Establish a grant program to finance local government planning activities as follows:
Local Planning Grant Program. Establish a new grant program under DOA and authorize the agency to provide grants to a county, city, village, town or regional planning commission to finance the cost of planning activities. Specify that the activities eligible for funding would include contracting for planning consultant services, public planning sessions and other planning outreach and educational activities, or for the purchase of computerized planning data, planning software or the hardware required to utilize that data or software. Stipulate that DOA must require the grantee to finance from local resources at least 20% of the costs of the product or services to be supported by the planning grant.
Funding. Create an annual appropriation under DOA to fund planning grants to local units of government. Provide $1,000,000 annually for such grants, to be funded from the transportation fund by transfers from DOT's highway administration and planning federal funds appropriation. Modify DOT's highway and planning federal funds appropriation to permit the transfer of such monies to DOA. The amount of the DOT transfer would equal the amounts appropriated under DOA for the planning grants.
DOT Approval of Planning Grant Expenditures. Specify that prior to the award of any planning grant from the new appropriation, DOA would be required to forward a detailed statement of the proposed grant expenditures to the Secretary of DOT and obtain the Secretary's written approval of the proposed expenditures. Federal law requires each state to designate one agency to administer federal highway aid. Since DOT is the designated agency in Wisconsin, the Secretary of DOT would have to approve the grants made by DOA under the new planning grant program.
Joint Finance/Legislature: Specify that: (a) DOA may require a local match, not to exceed 25%, rather than requiring a 20% local match in all cases, for planning grants to a county, city, village, town or regional planning commission; and (b) the planning grants could be awarded only for purposes related to the transportation element of a comprehensive plan [See "General Provisions" for information on comprehensive planning.].
[Act 9 Sections: 110w, 352 and 529]
3. COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING GRANTS PROGRAM
Joint Finance: Establish a new comprehensive planning grant program, as follows:
Comprehensive Planning Grants to Local Units of Government. Create a new PR-funded, annual appropriation under DOA for the purpose of making comprehensive planning grants to a county, city, village, town or regional planning commission. Authorize DOA to make an annual assessment against the state agencies enumerated below to fund this comprehensive planning grant program. Specify that this appropriation, DOA's authority to assess agencies and the associated grant program would be repealed, effective July 1, 2010.
Assessment of Certain State Agencies to Fund the Comprehensive Planning Grants Program. Provide that annually the Secretary of DOA shall assess DOA, DATCP, Commerce, DNR, DOR and the UW System $250,000 each to support the planning grants and the costs of program delivery. Provide that the annual assessment would be applied among each agency's individual GPR-funded general program operations appropriations, in amounts as determined by the Secretary of DOA, such that the total assessed from all such appropriations under each agency would total $250,000. Provide that the amounts assessed would be credited to the PR-funded planning grant appropriation account, after first deducting the amounts separately appropriated to support DOA staffing for comprehensive planning grant activities and the UW-Extension's Local Planning Educational and Technical Assistance Program and Model Ordinance Development Initiative (described under "University of Wisconsin System").
Funding and Staffing under DOA for Comprehensive Planning Grant Activities. From the amounts assessed, provide total expenditure authority under the new DOA comprehensive planning grants appropriation of $1,430,000 in 1999-00 and $1,288,200 in 2000-01. Provide an additional $50,000 annually and authorize 1.0 PR position in DOA's Office of Land Information Services under a new annual appropriation funded from the agency comprehensive planning grant assessments to support the operation of the new planning grant program. [The remaining funds from the annual assessments, $20,000 in 1999-00 and $161,800 in 2000-01, would be appropriated under the University of Wisconsin System.]
Purpose of the Comprehensive Planning Grants. Specify that the activities eligible for funding under the DOA comprehensive planning grants appropriation would include contracting for planning consultant services, public planning sessions and other planning outreach and educational activities, or the purchase of computerized planning data, planning software or the hardware required to utilize that data or software. Stipulate that only those planning efforts containing all nine planning elements enumerated under the comprehensive planning provisions of the bill [see description under "General Provisions"] would be eligible for grants. Specify that DOA may require grantees to finance from local resources not more than 25% of the costs of the product or services to be supported by the planning grant.
Approval of Comprehensive Planning Grants. Specify that prior to the awarding of any comprehensive planning grants, DOA would be required to forward a statement of the proposed expenditures to the Wisconsin Land Council and, through August 31, 2003, obtain the Land Council's written approval of the expenditures. In making such a funding determination, require the Land Council to favor grant applications if they contain the following elements:
(a) Joint planning. Planning efforts that involve overlapping or neighboring jurisdictions will be favored over single unit planning efforts.
(b) Coordination with state goals. Applications that are accompanied by a statement that the plans would meet the following state policy goals will be favored over applications that do not include these goals:
• Promotion of the redevelopment of lands with existing infrastructure and public services and the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing residential, commercial and industrial structures.
• Encouragement of neighborhood designs that support a range of transportation choices.
• Protection of natural areas, including wetlands, wildlife habitats, lakes and woodlands, open spaces and groundwater resources.
• Protection of economically productive areas, including farmland and forests.
• Encouragement of land uses, densities and regulations that promote efficient development patterns and relatively low municipal, state government and utility costs.
• Preservation of cultural, historic and archaeological sites.
• Encouragement of coordination and cooperation among nearby units of government.
• Building of community identity by maintaining physical separation between urban areas, revitalizing main streets and enforcing design standards.
• Providing an adequate supply of affordable housing for all income levels throughout each community.
• Providing adequate infrastructure and public services and supply of developable land to meet existing and future market demand for residential, commercial and industrial uses.
• Promoting the expansion or stabilization of the current economic base and the creation of a range of employment opportunities.
• Balancing individual property rights with community interests and goals.
• Planning and development of land uses that create or preserve varied and unique urban and rural communities.
(c) Smart growth areas. Planning efforts that identify smart growth areas to which state and local infrastructure and other investments will be targeted will be favored, if the areas will: (i) promote the development and redevelopment of lands with existing infrastructure and municipal, state and utility services, where practicable; and (ii) encourage efficient development patterns that are both contiguous to existing development and at densities which have relatively low municipal, state government and utility costs.
(d) Implementation. Planning efforts, including subsequent updates and amendments that include development of implementing ordinances, including but not limited to zoning, subdivision and land division ordinances, will be favored over planning-only efforts.
(e) Completion. Planning efforts that promise completion within 30 months of the date on which the grant would be awarded will be favored.
(f) Public participation. Planning efforts that provide opportunities for public participation throughout the planning process will be favored.
Assembly: Delete provision.
Senate: Modify the comprehensive planning recommendations of Joint Finance as follows:
Assessment of Certain State Agencies to Fund the Comprehensive Planning Grants Program. Modify the procedure that directs the Secretary of DOA to assess six agencies $250,000 each, on an annual basis, by modifying the provision that directs the assessments to be applied against each agency's GPR-funded general program operations appropriations to instead specify that the assessments could be made against any of the agency's appropriations for general program operations.
Conference Committee/Legislature: Delete the Senate provision and instead modify the comprehensive planning recommendations of Joint Finance as follows:
Assessment of Certain State Agencies to Fund the Comprehensive Planning Grants Program. Delete the provision directing the Secretary of DOA to annually assess six agencies $250,000 each to support planning grants and the costs of program delivery.
Funding and Staffing under DOA for Comprehensive Planning Grant Activities. Delete $1,430,000 PR in 1999-00 and $1,288,200 PR in 2000-01 provided by Joint Finance for comprehensive planning grants and instead provide $1,500,000 GPR in 2000-01 for this purpose. These grant modifications reflect a conversion of the source of funding for the program and a delay in the implementation of the first planning grant funding cycle until the 2000-01 fiscal year. Delete $50,000 PR annually and 1.0 PR position and instead provide $12,500 GPR in 1999-00 and $50,000 GPR in 2000-01 and authorize 1.0 GPR position in DOA's Office of Land Information Services to support the operation of the new planning grants program. These position modifications reflect a conversion of the source of funding for the administrative support for the program and a delay in providing start-up resources for the program during 1999-00.
Purpose of the Comprehensive Planning Grants. Replace the requirement that allows DOA to require grantees to finance from local resources not more than 25% of the costs of the product or services to be supported by the planning grant with a provision that directs DOA to require local governments to finance a percentage of the planning costs from local resources. Direct DOA to determine the local percentage based on the availability of funding and the number of applications.
Approval of Comprehensive Planning Grants. Modify the provision that requires the Wisconsin Land Council to favor grant applications that contain elements relating to joint planning, coordination with state goals, smart growth areas, implementation, completion, and public participation to clarify that the Council is to favor applications that contain all of these elements. Modify the element relating to coordination with state goals as follows:
· Rename the element "coordination with local comprehensive planning goals" and clarify that the goals are local comprehensive planning goals, as opposed to state policy goals;
· Delete the reference to "maintaining physical separation between urban areas" from the goal relating to the building of community identity;
· Clarify that the goal regarding the creation of employment opportunities extends to the state, regional and local levels; and
· Create an additional goal relating to providing an integrated, efficient and economical transportation system that provides mobility, convenience and safety and which meets the needs of all citizens, including transit-dependent and disabled.
Modify the element relating to smart growth areas to clarify that planning efforts must meet either of two enumerated criteria, as opposed to both criteria. Modify the element relating to public participation to clarify that public participation should take place throughout the planning process.
Veto by Governor [B-26]: Delete the scheduled July 1, 2010, repeal of: (a) the comprehensive planning grants program; (b) the enumerated factors that DOA must use in awarding grants under the program; and (c) the GPR-funded grant appropriation and associated administrative appropriation under DOA.
[Act 9 Sections: 12m, 12n, 110m, 110no, 110p, 110q, 110s, 110t, 110w, 509v, 509x, 2353m, 2353n, 9101(19g) and 9401(2zu)]
[Act 9 Vetoed Sections: 110n, 110r, 509w, 509y and 9401(6zu)&(6zv)]
4. SMART GROWTH DIVIDEND AID PROGRAM
Joint Finance: Require DOA and DOR to jointly propose a smart growth dividend aid program in their biennial budget requests for 2001-03 which provide aids to localities beginning in 2005-06. Require the proposal to include provisions that would distribute aid to towns, villages, cities and counties which meet the following requirements: (a) the local government has adopted a comprehensive plan that the Wisconsin Land Council and DOA have determined meets provisions established under administrative rule; (b) the local government has implemented the plan in accordance with provisions under the comprehensive planning statute; and (c) the population density within the local government's boundaries has increased. Require the proposal to include a provision requiring the Wisconsin Land Council to approve or disapprove grant applications within 60 days of submission.
Assembly: Delete provision.
Senate: Modify the requirements that local governments would have to meet to receive aid payments to specify that local governments must have zoning and subdivision ordinances that are consistent with their comprehensive plans and to specify that aid would be distributed to eligible local governments on the basis of credits that the local governments would accumulate for new housing units that are sold or rented in the previous year on lots of one-quarter acre or less and for new housing units that were sold at prices less than 80% of the median sale price for new homes in the county in the previous year.
Conference Committee/Legislature: Delete the requirement that the 2001-03 budget requests of DOA and DOR contain a provision that would require aid recipients to be local governments where the population density has increased, and, instead, require the aid recipients to have zoning and subdivision ordinances that are consistent with their comprehensive plan. Specify that aid would be distributed to eligible local governments on the basis of credits that the local government would accumulate for new housing units that were sold or rented in the previous year on lots of one-quarter acre or less and for new housing units that were sold at prices less than 80% of the median sale price of new homes in the county in the previous year.
[Act 9 Section: 9101(18zo)]
