Profile
Of The Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission
About
The Commission
Regional Planning Programs
Commissioners and Staff
Contact Information
Serving the
Counties of:
Brown, Door, Florence, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Oconto, Sheboygan in Northeastern Wisconsin
Regional
planning in Wisconsin has
evolved from a long tradition of state and local concern for land and
water
conservation, balanced economic development, and other concerns for the
future
of our state. The realization that many natural and human problems and
activities
often affect an area larger than a single city, town, village, or
county led to
the concept of an area-wide approach to planning. The Bay-Lake Regional
Planning Commission has been established to provide advisory planning
service
on area-wide issues, to represent local interests on state and federal
planning
program activities, and to provide local planning assistance to
communities in
the region.
The
Commission
Creation and
Authority
The Bay-Lake Regional Planning Commission
(Commission) was created in
1972 by Governor Lucey at the request of seven county boards in the
region
under Wisconsin Statutes s. 66.945 (re-titled 66.0309) as the official
area-wide planning agency for northeastern Wisconsin. In
December 1973, Florence County joined
the Commission, bringing the total number of member counties to eight. Section 66.0309 (8) (2) prescribes that the
function of the regional planning commission shall be solely
advisory to
the local governments and local government officials comprising the
region.
Area Served
The Commission serves
a region consisting of the
eight counties of Brown, Door, Florence,
Kewaunee, Manitowoc,
Marinette, Oconto and Sheboygan. The Bay-Lake Region is
comprised of eight counties, 17 cities, 40 villages, 119 towns, and the
Oneida
Nation of Wisconsin, for a total of 185 local units of government. The
total
area of the region is 5,433 square miles, or 9.7 percent of the area of
the
State of Wisconsin. The region has over 400 miles of coastal
shoreline
along Lake Michigan and Green Bay, and contains 12 major
watershed areas that drain into the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. The 2007 population
estimate of the Region was 586,526 persons, or 10.4 percent of the
population
of the State of Wisconsin.
Organization
The
membership composition of the Commission is as follows: (1) One member
appointed by the county board of each county, part or all of which is
initially
within the region or later added; (2) Two members from each
participating
county appointed by the governor, with at least one of the appointees
being
selected from a list of persons nominated by the county board; and (3)
The
secretary of the department of commerce or a designee who serves as a
nonvoting
member. As of March 2008, 12 were publicly appointed officials or
employees,
and 10 were private citizens who were actively involved in community
affairs.
Funding
2008 Budget:
$1,325,897 (17.8% Member Levy, 22.6% Federal, 6.0% State, 46.4%
Local
Government Contracts, and 7.2% Miscellaneous).
Operating
Principles
The Commission operates under the following five principles under
which all
of the Commission's work programs are developed. These principles are:
- To
assist and advise local government.
- To
influence state, regional, and federal plans and programs that reflect
the best interest of the Bay-Lake Region.
- To
prepare and adopt a comp plan under Wisconsin Statutes s. 66.0295, for
the development of the region.
- To
provide technical information about the region for use by public and
private agencies.
- To
encourage citizen participation in the planning process.
Basic
Functions
Throughout
its history, the Commission has taken a balanced approach to its work
program,
by providing both area-wide planning as well as local assistance
services. In
recognition of its statutory responsibilities, the Commission has
undertaken
regional studies that have focused on the region's transportation
network,
population and economic structure, housing characteristics, natural
resources,
land and water related issues and on those issues that transcend local
governmental boundaries. Regional planning provides a cost effective
way to
collect, compile, and analyze information that can be used by counties
and
other local government units on their planning activities, such as
comprehensive planning, environmental corridor preservation and
economic
development. Regional plans provide a framework for more detailed
planning at
the local level.
In
all of its activities, the Commission provides an advisory planning
role to
local governments and local government officials. Local planning
activities
include but are not limited to, comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances,
grant
writing and administration, GIS mapping and outdoor
recreation plans.
Regional
Planning Programs
Regional
Transportation
Planning
Since the mid-1970’s, the Bay-Lake RPC has provided regional
transportation planning in northeastern Wisconsin including:
- Bicycle facility plans
- Elderly and disabled
transportation plans
- Highway corridor plans
- Pavement management plans
- Transit plans
- Transportation plans
- Harbor impact studies
- Transportation grant writing-TEA
grants, Harbor Assistance Program
- Shared ride taxi program grant assistance and
administration
- Transportation data
- Technical assistance to local
communities
- A working relationship with WisDOT
and Federal Highway Administration
- Wisconsin Department
of
Transportation
Sheboygan
MPO
The Commission was
designated the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Sheboygan by the governor in 1982.
- Area includes the Cities of
Sheboygan and Sheboygan Falls, the Villages of Kohler and Howards Grove,
the Town of Sheboygan and portions of the Towns of Herman, Lima, Mosel, Sheboygan Falls and Wilson
- Federal law stipulates that
transportation planning through a MPO is required for metropolitan
planning area communities to receive federal transportation funding
- Projects include traffic
forecasts, surveys, transit system plans, and long and short range
multimodal transportation plans and programs
- Transportation air quality
conformity analysis
- GIS mapping
- Transportation modeling assistance
Water
Quality Planning
The Commission provides technical assistance to communities to help
protect
water quality. Projects include:
- Sewer
service area planning
- Sewer service
administration for the City of Marinette urban area, the Sheboygan urban area, the Cities of
Two Rivers and Manitowoc, and the Villages of
Luxemburg and Mishicot
- Lake and River management plans
- Lake
Michigan Watershed Basin Planning
- A working
relationship with the WDNR, EPA, and UW-Sea Grant Institute
- Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
Economic
Development Program
U.S. Department of Commerce designated BLRPC an economic development
district in 1973 to work on various economic duties including:
- A
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that reports
current economic statistics, development strategy and a list of
proposed
projects for EDA funding
- Grant
research
- Grant
writing and administration for public works and economic
development projects
- Demographic
and socio-economic data collection and analysis
- Population
projections
- Tax
incremental financing project plans
- Technical
assistance to local communities
- Census
information clearinghouse
- Wisconsin state data center
- A working relationship with the
Economic Development Administration
- Wisconsin
Department of
Commerce
Area-Wide Land
Use Planning
Under this program the Commission completed a
Regional Comprehensive
Plan in 2005 that can be used by counties and other local governments
as a
framework for comprehensive plans required under Wisconsin’s “Smart
Growth”
legislation (s 66.1001) such as:
Coastal
Management
Program
The Commission has participated in the Wisconsin Coastal Management
Program
since 1979 providing:
- Technical
assistance to local communities on coastal issues and for
grant applications to the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
- Erosion
control study along Lake
Michigan
- GIS
mapping of coastal resources
- Public
information on wetlands, impacts of development, public access,
land use planning and natural hazards
- A working
relationship with the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
- Wisconsin
Coastal Management Program
Community Assistance Program
Section 66.0309 (12) of the Wisconsin
Statutes
empowers regional planning commissions to enter into a contract with
any local
unit of government in the region under s.66.0301 (Intergovernmental
Cooperation) to make studies and offer: 1) advice on land use,
thoroughfares,
community facilities and public improvements; and 2) encouragement of
economic
and other developments through:
- Comprehensive
plans
- Outdoor
recreation and site plans
- Waterfront
plans
- Zoning,
sign and subdivision ordinances
- Codes of
ordinances
- Pavement
assessment
- GIS mapping
and analysis
- Sewer
service area plans
- Citizen
surveys and community visioning
- Environmental
review records
- Tax
incremental finance district plans
- Grant
writing and administration for
brownfields, housing, economic development, and public works
- All-hazards
mitigation planning
- Wisconsin
Department of
Administration
Coordination
of Local & Regional Planning
An important part of the Commission’s work program is to provide a
way
to discuss problems that transcend local government boundaries and can
offer
joint solutions for intergovernmental cooperation.
- Coastal
Management Citizen Advisory Committee
- County Planners Meetings
- Economic
Development Advisory Committee
- GIS Users
Group
- Housing
Advisory Committee
- I-43
Corridor Study Steering Committee
- Land Use and
Transportation Technical
Advisory Committee
- Manitowoc-Two Rivers Sewer Service
Technical Advisory Committee
- Marinette
Sewer Service Area Technical Advisory Committee
- Regional Harbor Council
- Sheboygan Metropolitan Planning
Organization Technical and Policy Advisory Committees
Commissioners
& Staff
Commissioners:
|
Brown:
|
William Clancy, Toni
M. Loch, Chris Swan
|
|
Door:
|
Paul DeWitt, Mariah K. Goode
|
|
Florence:
|
Edwin Kelley, Bruce Osterberg, Yvonne
VanPembrook
|
|
Kewaunee:
|
Mary Hanrahan, Brian Paplham,
Charles Wagner
|
|
Manitowoc:
|
Donald Markwardt,
Valerie Mellon, NyiaLong Vang
|
|
Marinette:
|
Alice
Baumgarten, Cheryl Maxwell – Vice-Chairperson,
Mary Meyer
|
|
Oconto:
|
Donald Glynn, Thomas Kussow,
Lois Trever – Secretary/Treasurer
|
|
Sheboygan:
|
James Gilligan – Chairperson, Ron
McDonald, Mike Hotz
|
WI Dept. of
Commerce
|
Sec., Jack L. Fischer |
Staff:
Mark A. Walter
Executive Director
mwalter@baylakerpc.org
Commission Work Program, Community Planning,
Natural Resources, Coastal Issues |
Brenda
L. Rehberg
Administrative Assistant
brehberg@baylakerpc.org |
Jeffrey
C.
Agee-Aguayo, AICP
Transportation Planner III
jagee@baylakerpc.org
Sheboygan MPO Transportation Planning |
Brandon
G.
Robinson
Community Assistance Planner III
brobinson@baylakerpc.org
Community Planning
|
Tony D. Bellovary
GIS Coordinator
tbellovary@baylakerpc.org
GIS Data & Mapping, & Web Mapping
|
Luann T. Rudolph
Community Planner I
lrudolph@baylakerpc.org
Community Planning
|
Richard
L. Heath
Assistant Director/Principal Planner
rheath@baylakerpc.org
Commission Work Program, Community Planning, Economic
Development, Grants |
Joshua W. Schedler
GIS Specialist
jschedler@baylakerpc.org
GIS Data & Mapping |
Richard J.
Malone
Office Accounts Coordinator
rmalone@baylakerpc.org |
James
J. Van
Laanen, AICP
Transportation Planner III
jvanlaan@baylakerpc.org
Transportation Planning, Community Planning
|
Angela M. Pierce
Natural Resources Planner II
apierce@baylakerpc.org
Natural Resources, Coastal Issues, SSA |
Ker
Vang
Community Planner I
kvang@baylakerpc.org
Community Planning |
Contact Information:
Bay-Lake Regional Planning
Commission
441 South Jackson Street
Green Bay, WI 54301
Telephone: (920) 448-2820
Fax: (920) 448-2823
E-mail: info@baylakerpc.org
Website: http://www.baylakerpc.org
Copyright ©2008 Bay-Lake
Regional Planning
Commission. All rights reserved.