Town of Beloit Comprehensive Plan

Town Board Enacts Comprehensive Plan Ordinance

2009-07-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, the Board of Supervisors of the Town of Beloit adopted the Town of Beloit Comprehensive Plan (2009 - 2030) by Ordinance. From here on, the new Plan will be the "guidebook" for the Town to use when evaluating new ordinances, town priorities, projects, development, redevelopment, road improvements, public facilities, utilities, parks, open spaces, trails, and more. The Plan document can be found at the Town's Smart Growth Website.

With the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan Ordinance, this blog will likely stop being updated, at least for the time being. Please refer to the Town website or Town Hall for more information on the Comprehensive Plan. Thank you all so much for your guidance, support, input, and commitment throughout the process.

Plan Commission Recommends Approval; Town Board to Adopt Comprehensive Plan Ordinance July 6

2009-06-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

On May 20, the Plan Commission held its public hearing and authorized a resolution to recommend Town Board adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. The final step in the planning process is to hold a public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan Ordinance, which will take place before the Town Board on Monday, July 6, 2009 at 7 p.m. at Beloit Town Hall. The completed draft of the plan itself can be reviewed before the meeting in many places:

Beloit Town Hall – 2871 S. Afton Road (M-F 8 am – 4:30 pm)
Beloit Public Library – 605 Eclipse Boulevard, Beloit WI (M – Th 9:30 am – 9 pm, F-Sat 9:30 am – 5:30 pm)
http://sites.google.com/site/townofbeloitsmartgrowth/Home/documents-and-drafts

Thank you all, again, for your participation in this process.

Now it's your turn

2009-05-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

Alright folks, you've been very helpful as we've been working on this plan over the past year, and now we have two more HUGE favors to ask:

1. Please attend the Plan Commission public hearing on May 20 @ 6 pm to review and comment on the Draft Plan.
2. The Draft Plan needs help! There are lots of words and some helpful maps, but it still lacks that "personal touch" that only you can provide. So we're asking you to take a photograph of something you LOVE about your Town - could be a business, person, house, park, the River, whatever you like. Once you've got that photo taken, e-mail it to me at rgarcia@rhbatterman.com and I will put it into the plan. If you can't send a digital pic, let me know and I'll take care of it!

Thanks everyone, for all of your help throughout the process. hope to see you next week.

Planners Want Input on Town of Beloit Smart Growth Plan May 20

2009-05-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder - the Plan Commission will conduct a special meeting next Wednesday to review the Draft Comprehensive Plan and possibly refer it to the Town Board for adoption. Come on out!

Wednesday,May 20 at 6 pm, the draft of the Town's Comprehensive Plan, commonly referred to as a “Smart Growth” plan, will be presented for public hearing before the Town Plan Commission and, if approved by the Plan Commission, recommended to the Town Board for adoption. Through a series of public participation activities, this Plan has been in development over the past several years. Drawing heavily on community input received throughout the process, the Comprehensive Plan establishes goals, policies, and recommended actions related to future land use, transportation, economic development, housing, natural resource preservation, community facilities, and intergovernmental relations in the Town. The public hearing represents the final step before the plan is officially adopted, and therefore is one of the last opportunities for public input on the “draft” plan. All interested community members are encouraged to participate in this event.

A copy of the draft is available at the Town Hall, The Beloit Public Library, and online at the Town's Smart Growth Page (http://sites.google.com/site/townofbeloitsmartgrowth/Home).
Details on the Public Hearing:Wednesday, May 20 @ 6 p.mBeloit Town Hall
2871 S. Afton Road, Beloit WI

More information can be attained by visiting the Town’s “Smart Growth Blog” at http://beloitsmartgrowth.blogspot.com or by contacting the Town Hall (608.364.2980).

Public Hearing on Draft Plan Scheduled for May 20, 6 p.m.

2009-04-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

The Plan Commission has scheduled the public hearing for the Town's Smart Growth Plan. The public hearing will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20 at the Town of Beloit Town Hall, 2871 Afton Road. At this meeting, Batterman's planners will present the completed plan and maps for discussion and (if all goes well) adoption. Keep an eye on the Town's Smart Growth website for updated drafts of the Plan (we're posting updates almost every day) so that you're familiar with the content of the Plan. Thanks to the Plan Commission and the many members of the community that have taken an interest in this very important process!

Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation and Parks Plan Adopted by Town Board

2009-04-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

After several months of great discussion, input, and consideration, the Town Board voted to adopt the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation and Parks Plan, 2009 - 2014 last night. This Plan establishes the Town's goals, addresses its needs, and recommends its actions as related to parks and open space planning in the future. Importantly, the Plan also satisfies the State's requirements for becoming eligible for Grant assistance for Town park and open space projects. Thanks especially to the Parks Committee, Plan Commission, and many members of the public who attended meetings and provided many of the good ideas found in the Plan.

The "Park Plan" can be found at the Town's Smart Growth website. While you're there, you can also check out the latest draft of the Comprehensive Plan, which is progressing towards completion, as well. The Plan Commission will meet this Wednesday and schedule the Public Hearing for the Comprehensive Plan, so please check back for that update.

Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation and Parks Plan to Be Presented to Parks Board Wed., March 18

2009-03-11T12:51:00.001-07:00

Next Wednesday,March 18, the draft of the Town's Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation and Parks Plan will be discussed at a meeting of the Town Parks Committee and, if approved by the Parks Committee, recommended to the Town Board for adoption. This Plan has been in development concurrently with the Comprehensive Plan, but it is a separate document and plan. It establishes goals and recommendations specifically for parks and recreation in the Town, and is required for the Town to compete for parks, open space, recreation, and trail grants. The draft is available at the Town Hall, The Beloit Library, and online at the Town's Smart Growth Page. Details on he Meeting:

Wednesday, March 18 @ 5 p.m
McKearn Park Shelter (At Park Street and Hart Road)

Full Steam Ahead on Draft Plan

2009-02-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

Following an outstanding meeting last night with an excellent turnout, we're shifting our attention to developing the Comprehensive Plan document and final plan maps. The draft plan will be presented at a public hearing in April (tentatively scheduled for April 15 @ 4:15 p.m.), but I encourage you all to keep an eye on the Town's Smart Growth Website, where we'll post updated drafts as they become available.

Back to last night's meeting: thanks to everyone (we had about 50 participants, at my rough estimation) for coming out, providing your comments and suggestions, and generally taking interest and ownership in this process and plan. Your commitment and effort will directly lead to a better, more meaningful, and more useful Town Plan. I encourage you all to remain active and involved in the Plan as we move towards adoption and through implementation of the tasks and policies outlined in it.

A final note: we've changed the settings on the blog so you shouldn't have to register any longer if you want to comment. It should be noted that "anonymous" comments will not be as useful to the plan commission in its decision-making as those from identified Town property owners and residents.

Thanks again everyone. Stay tuned and we'll see you in April!

Final Recommendations Workshop 2/11 @ 4:15 p.m.

2009-02-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

After several very productive meetings over the past several years, The Plan Commission will be hosting the final "workshop" on the Comprehensive Smart Growth Plan before the final plan is prepared for a public hearing. This meeting, as part of the commission's regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday February 11th at 4:15, will focus on recommendations for agricultural, natural and cultural resources, housing, implementation, and land use. This session will include a first draft of the Town's future land use map, which, once adopted, would be the guiding land use vision for the Town and the first binding reference the Town would use in considering new development, zoning changes, and more. So, this meeting is an important one and we hope to see plenty of interested faces on the 11th! Keep an eye on the website for up to date documents, maps, documents, and more!

Smart Growth Recommendations Workshop
Wednesday, February 11 – 4:15 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Beloit Town Hall
2871 South Afton Road (County Road D)

First Recommendations Workshop Complete, See you in February!

2009-01-15T08:05:00.001-08:00

The Plan Commission reviewed and provided insight on the Comprehensive Plan's recommendations for several elements on January 14, including transportation, parks, and economic development. Materials from this session, and previous work, can be found at the Town's Smart Growth Website. The next session will be on February 11 at 4:15 pm - we hope to see you there. At that session we will be discussing the final recommendations as related to the Town's Land Use Plan, as well as Housing, Agricultural, Natural, and Cultural Resources, and Plan Implementation. Stay tuned to the website for documents, drafts, and other information as the plan continues to take shape.

Recommendations Workshop Next Week

2009-01-05T13:43:00.001-08:00

As part of its Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning process, the Town of Beloit is inviting people who live, work, play, rent, or own property in the Town to join in a focused presentation and discussion on recommended actions, policies, and programs that the community will pursue with respect to its Comprehensive “Smart Growth” Plan. The meeting, to be held on Wednesday, January 14 at the Beloit Town Hall, is to be hosted by the Town Plan Commission and will be facilitated by professional planners from R.H. Batterman & Company, a Town of Beloit-based Surveying, Engineering, and Planning firm since 1917. Over the course of several meetings, the Town has come together to focus on important long-range issues such parks, transportation, and economic development, and will illustrate and discuss strategies for addressing these issues at the January 14 meeting. All members of the public are welcome and encouraged to attend and participate. The details:
Smart Growth Recommendations Workshop
Wednesday, January 14 – 5:15 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Beloit Town Hall
2871 South Afton Road (County Road D)

In-Progress Draft of Smart Growth Plan Available

2008-12-03T08:49:00.001-08:00

The Town's Smart Growth Plan is about half-way done, with a first draft of the background information, goals and objectives, and existing conditions chapters available at the Town's Smart Growth Website. The detailed "planning" chapters (related to policies and actions the Town will make to carry out the plan) are in the process of being developed, and will be posted following January meetings. Stay tuned to the blog for dates & times of the January sessions.

Goals and Objectives to be Finalized at October 8 Meeting

2008-09-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

As part of its Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning process, the Town of Beloit is inviting people who live, work, play, rent, or own property in the Town to join in a focused discussion on the community’s goals, objectives, values, and vision with respect to its Comprehensive “Smart Growth” Plan. The meeting, to be held on Wednesday, October 8 at the Beloit Town Hall, is to be hosted by the Town Plan Commission and will be facilitated by professional planners from RH Batterman & Company, a Town of Beloit-based Surveying, Engineering, and Planning firm since 1917. Over the course of several meetings, the Town has come together to focus on important long-range issues such as land use, housing, parks, and transportation, and the October 8 meeting will tie together the critical goals that emerged from those meetings and direct the rest of the Planning process. All members of the public are welcome and encouraged to attend and participate. A working draft of the Town's Smart Growth Goals and Objectives can be found at the Town's Smart Growth Website. The meeting details:
Smart Growth Goals & Objectives Workshop
Wednesday, October 8 – 4:15 p.m.
Beloit Town Hall
2871 South Afton Road (County Road D)

Draft Goals and Objectives On-Line Now

2008-08-22T07:57:00.001-07:00

We've completed a first draft of the Town's Goals and Objectives for the Smart Growth Plan, and they can be viewed here. The Goals and Objectives for the Town’s plan form its backbone. I really must stress that this stage of the planning process is perhaps the most important. In simplest terms, the goals and objectives that we agree on will serve as my “checklist” as we develop the plan maps, text, and recommendations. They will guide the rest of the process from here on out, so it is very important that we’re touching on the right points and in a manner that is consistent with the Town’s vision. The effectiveness and usability of the Plan in the future is greatly influenced by how appropriate and comprehensive the goals are, so my hope is that we’ve accomplished this and I count on you all to confirm or correct that.

The Plan Commission will meet on September 10 @ 4:15, Town Hall and a discussion on the Goals and Objectives will be a part of their agenda (be advised, they will likely have additional official business so please come prepared and stay on point). Or, if you have comments or suggestions and can't make the meeting, you can always submit comments in writing to:
Beloit Town Hall
c/o Smart Growth Plan
2871 Afton Road
Beloit, WI 53511

or via e-mail (rgarcia@rhbatterman.com or rmuseus.town.beloit@tds.net).

Parks Focus Group Completed; Goals & Objectives Being Developed

2008-08-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

A very solid turnout last night at Town Hall for the Parks and Open Space focus group - thanks to all for coming and sharing your insight and comments. This was the last of our "input" sessions per se; we'll now start developing the Plan itself. The first step in this process is formalizing the primary goals and objectives of the Plan. This actually is a pretty involved and extremely important step - consider that there are 10 elements to our Plan and each has specific goals and objectives and you'll see that there will likely be dozens! We're targeting the September 10 Plan Commission Meeting for a public review and discussion of the draft goals & objectives, so PLEASE mark your calendars and help us out with this review and discussion. Our intention in developing the draft is to accurately represent the Town's values, vision, and priorities. With that said, it is critical that the community (citizens as well as elected/appointed officials) review the draft and comment/recommend changes where necessary. Keep your eye on this page for the draft goals and objectives as they develop, and remember: Wednesday, September 10 @ 4:15pm, Town Hall!

Smart Growth Website Back Up

2008-08-11T06:15:00.000-07:00

After some kind of gaffe, the Town's Smart Growth Website is back up and running. You can review materials from the previous meetings, review the draft document, and also have a "sneak peek" at the materials for this Wednesday's (August 13) meeting - a Parks and Open Space Focus Group/Workshop which will be held at 7 pm at Beloit Town Hall, 2871 Afton Road. Hope to see many of you there!

Smart Growth Website Down

2008-08-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

For some reason, the website we set up to host all of the Smart Growth information has been disabled. I've contacted the administrators and hope to receive some info soon. In the meantime, anyone who needs any of the materials from any past meetings or the upcoming Parks Element workshop (Wed. 8/13 @ 7pm - Town Hall), just send an e-mail. Sorry for the technical difficulties!

Housing Focus Group Completed; Parks next

2008-08-01T06:45:00.001-07:00

We held a pretty well-attended Housing focus group this Wednesday - a big thanks to everyone for their dedication and passion for their community. I'm hopeful we'll continue to see yours and more new faces as we continue on! For those who missed the meeting, or for those who were there and would like to review or look a little further in to some of the items we only had a chance to touch upon (sorry about that), you can find materials from the meeting here.

Our next meeting will be on Wed., August 13 @ 7pm, again over at Town Hall. This meeting will be held to bring some ideas to the table for park, recreation, and open space improvements in the Town and to look at where it might be appropriate to plan for new park and open space land in the future. Please spread the word!

Errors - Parks Notice

2008-07-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Noticing from some of the local papers that the meeting we're holding to discuss the Parks and Open Space Element is listed as August 6 @ 7 pm at McKearn Park. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS HAS BEEN CHANGED!!! The Parks and Open Space element focus group will be held Wed., August 13 @ 7pm at the Town Hall. We're terribly sorry for the confusion.

In the News

2008-07-28T06:21:00.001-07:00

The Janesville Gazette ran an article last week about the Town's Smart Growth Planning Process. Thanks Ann Marie and the Gazette for helping to "get the word out!"

Project Website Set Up

2008-07-24T07:37:00.001-07:00

We've set up a website for the Smart Growth Plan. We'll continue to update this with workshop packets, meeting dates, progress reports, and the latest drafts of the Plan - in fact, it's already been updated with the latest draft of the plan and the first few packets of information we've shared with the Plan Commission and Parks Committee. Please check it out, and don't forget to come to Town Hall next Wednesday @ 6 pm for the Housing Element Focus Group!

Working Draft of Document Available Now

2008-07-15T08:04:00.001-07:00

A working draft of the Town of Beloit's Comprehensive (Smart Growth) Plan is and will continue to be available at the Beloit Town Hall, 2871 S. Afton Road. As this is a working draft, it will continue to expand and develop over the next several months - hopefully with your help! The document and supportive information should also be available on the town's website (www.townofbeloit.org) relatively soon.

Planning Process Underway

2008-07-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Town of Beloit is currently working on its Comprehensive Plan, commonly referred to as a "Smart Growth" Plan. The next Smart Growth meeting in the Town will be held on Wednesday, July 30th at 6 pm, at the Beloit Town Hall, 2871 South Afton Road. At this meeting, planners from RH Batterman & Co. (a Town of Beloit-based firm) will facilitate a discussion related to housing in the Town. The planning team will use detailed data, information, imagery, and maps to frame this open discussion, in order to solicit input and ideas to shape the Housing Element of the Town's Smart Growth Plan. This meeting will be hosted by the Plan Commission and is entirely open to all members of the public.