The State of Wisconsin adopted legislation in the year 2000 which requires that all local units of government within the State complete a comprehensive (smart growth) plan no later than the year 2010 if they wished to continue to exercise any zoning, regulatory, or land use controls over land within their jurisdictions.

Included in that historic State legislation, was a provision to make available, to communities with approved planning initiatives, matching fund grants- based on the population of the municipalities. Communities, such as the Town of Vienna, with populations under 2,000 persons could become eligible for matching grants up to $ 10,000 dollars. The legislation also included language that allowed for grants of an additional matching grant amount up to $ 2,000 dollars for approved cooperative multi-jurisdictional grant applications.

To be eligible for matching "smart growth" grant funding, the approved comprehensive planning initiatives were required to include and address a minimum of nine distinctive elements (with individual communities having the option to add additional elements).

The following are the nine required elements which must be addressed in each comprehensive community plan:

• Issues and Opportunities Element
• Housing Element
• Transportation Element
• Utilities and Community Facilities Element
• Agricultural, natural and cultural resources Element
• Economic Development Element
• Intergovernmental Cooperation Element
• Land Use Element
• Implementation Element

The Town of Vienna Board approved the setting aside of comprehensive planning funds in the year 2002 budget which was approved in November of 2001. In the month of January 2002, the town board and the town plan commission approved a motion to seek planning assistance bids. The town received inquiries from four professional planning consulting firms. After consulting with and researching the four applicants, the plan commission narrowed the list to two consulting firms, MSA Professional Services and Vandewalle & Associates.

The plan commission and the town board met with and interviewed representatives from both consulting firms. Each firm was asked to prepare bid and scope of work proposals. In July of 2002 the town plan commission recommended that MSA Professional Services be retained to assist the town in the preparation and completion of a "smart growth" comprehensive town plan. Although the estimated cost of completing the planning initiative was very similar between the two consulting firms, the MSA proposal was selected because the MSA consultants expressed a greater willingness to allow town staff to assist and complete major portions of the mapping and information gathering which would be required, to allow a higher degree of local citizen input during the initial drafting and preparation of the plan, and to allow a greater length of time and flexibility to the plan commission in the completion of the plan.

The MSA plan preparation and completion schedule was broken down into eight separate units. Those units are as follows:

• Background and Existing Conditions Gathering and Report
• Community Survey/ preparation- mailing-& tabulation
• Community "Kick Off" meeting
• Visioning (issues & opportunities) Analysis
• Element Creation (land use related smart growth elements)
• Element Creation (development of land use element)
• Public Participation, input, and review
• Town Adoption- and Implementation of the Approved Plan

PROGRESS - To Date (05/21/05)

Planning Budget/ Expenses to date/ State Reimbursements Received
	The original estimated consulting fee expense was:	$ 27,514.00
	Amount expended to date:	$ 36,966.30
	Original estimated budget amount remaining:	$ -0-
	Revised Estimated consulting expense to complete project:	$ 6,033.70
	State Grant Fund Reimbursements Received to Date:	$ 11,091.00
	State Grant Amount remaining to be collected:	$ 909.00

The town has already completed it¹s total required matching share amount for the entire project by using staff hours and expenses for preparing, recording, and tabulating the community survey, gathering existing information, and for preparing the desired and required local maps.

Plan Segments Began or Completed to Date:
	Background & Existing Conditions Gathering & Report	100%
	Community Survey/ Preparation/ and Tabulation	100%
	Preliminary Visioning (Issues & Opportunities) Analysis	100%
	Community "Kick Off" meeting	100%
Plan Commission Scheduled Project Break/ April to October
	Element Creation (Land Use Relater Smart Growth Elements)	100%
	Element Creation (Development of Land Use Element)	90%
	Public Participation, Input, and Review	25%
	Town Adoption- and implementation of the Approved Plan	-0-

AVAILABLE PLAN-RELATED INFORMATION:
(The listed information and Documents are Available at the Town Office)

• Community Demographics
• Existing Conditions, Zoning, and Land Use maps
• Individual Smart Growth Element Guide & Information Booklets
• Existing Town Plan (last revised in 1998)
• Town Land Division and Subdivision Regulations (revised in 2000)
• State Smart-Growth Legislation & Information Booklets
• Vienna Community Smart-Growth Survey/Tabulated Results*

*The Community Survey was mailed to All Vienna Household Adult Members.

Despite the relatively large number of questions and information sought in the survey, the Vienna survey response rate was considered to be unusually high — with a household response rate in excess of 60%. To maximize the useful of the survey data collected, the survey result tabulation allowed for the data to be sorted in a variety of ways (Male/Female, Age of Respondent, School District of Respondent, Agricultural/ Residential, Number of Years Respondent has Lived in Vienna, etc.)

II. Survey Results Analysis and Observations
by MSA Consultants

Household Demographics

• The predominance of respondents living in single-family homes is not surprising. It should be noted that the ratio of residents living in platted subdivisions is significant and likely to increase. This may eventually alter the balance of opinions on the development of agricultural land in the future.
• Most respondents have resided in the town for a considerable amount of time, and likely have very set opinions about the town that are not likely to be altered without significant cause.
• The number of households with only two persons is most likely tied to the presence of an older population whose children have moved out of the house, It is also possible that there are some younger couples with no children yet in this statistic, but this would be a minority of the respondents.
• A significant number of households are more than two persons, which indicates the presence of school age children in these households.

Living in Vienna

• The general location and rural atmosphere appear to be the two most selected reasons that people gave for residing in the Town of Vienna
• Respondents were overwhelmingly satisfied with the Town of Vienna as a place to live (More than 2/3 of those responding)
• The overall appearance and rural nature is thought to be the same as other towns in the area, but a majority of respondents said it was worth preserving.
• The highest response rate (243 responses) of "strongly agree" was scored for the statement that "Vienna should remain a mostly rural town".

Government Services

• More than 260 of an estimated 290 respondents perceived the town government, facilities and services as satisfactory or better.
• A significant number of respondents were satisfied with local public schools, the administration and public library services. In the context of recent referendum proposals, this could mean that no change is desired due to either its associated costs, or the belief that no changes are warranted. Considering the majority of homes that appear to have no children of their own in the home, the recent school building referendum rejections in the area seem understandable.
• Roadway conditions and snow plowing in the town were found to be satisfactory.
• Trash collection services were found to be satisfactory
• EMS and law enforcement services were also found to be satisfactory.
• There is general satisfaction with the town park, recreation, and open space areas.

Assessments and Mill Rates

Local assessment practices and the local mill rate were also found to be satisfactory at almost the same degree as the other areas evaluated.

Communication

• The Town Newsletter received the highest amount of responses of very satisfied at 217. As this will be one of the key tools use in disseminating information to the public regarding the progress of the plan, this is excellent news.
• A majority of respondents felt that the town actively shares timely and important information and makes effective use of technology.
• A majority of respondents felt that regional coordination with neighboring municipalities would be important.

Current Plan and Ordinances

• Most respondents are familiar and satisfied wit the current Town Plan and ordinances, however there is considerable room for improvement. It should be noted that these issues scored significantly lower that other service or local government questions. It should also be noted that the responses themselves do not eliminate the potential for misconceptions on these documents.
• Respondents did not indicate a strong desire to review long-range growth plans, but provided mixed results as to how this needs to be done (i.e a complete rewrite, minor updates, etc.)

Location of Commercial Uses

• There is considerable consensus among respondents that new business and commercial development be located near the I90 Interchange Corridor
• A small majority indicated that more business and commercial uses should be developed in the town.

Location and Design of Residential Uses

• The wide mix of responses to the cluster development question seems to indicate that there is not a common understanding to what exactly this means. The town plan committee may want to consider some efforts to better define what cluster development is, and decide if that is something that needs to be pursued further.
• Most respondents would like to see new residential development uses develop near existing residential development.
• A majority of respondents stated that subdivisions should only be allowed where there is public sewer available.

Regulations on Development

• While most respondents believed that regulations on development should not be reduced, a significant number of respondents did indicate that a reduction in regulations would be preferred. It is possible, if not likely, that those respondents who indicated a preference for a reduction in regulations have an issue with a particular part of a specific ordinance or guideline. It is also likely that the majority of the respondents own agricultural land that could potentially be developed.
• Land use conflicts have been identified as a significant problem in the Town.
• Opinions on the individual¹s ability top determine the use of their property varied. A slight majority was against allowing the individual owner to be the sole determinant on the use of the property. Additional definition and clarification may improve the understand of that response.
• There was a mixed response to allowing "limited Family Businesses" in unused agricultural buildings. The concept received considerable support once the words "only with specific and strict conditions" were added. Additional definition to what this refers to may further alter the response rate to the question.
• A majority of respondents stated that environmental protection was an acceptable reason to regulate private land.

Agricultural Preservation Efforts

• A majority of residents support agricultural compensation programs, but it is a significantly less figure that other supported measures identified previously in the survey.
• Respondents also indicated that preserving agricultural land is an acceptable reason to regulate private land.
• Respondents were all across the board when it came to compensation to owners of ag land to cover the loss of development potential. Additional research and more specific policies will likely adjust the response one way or the other.
• The statement with the second highest level of strong agreement (240) felt that the town needed to protect and preserve agricultural lands.
• However, a majority of respondents did not agree that tax dollars should be used to support property compensation programs. This means that regulations of land use are the logical choice for preserving agricultural lands.

RELATED DOWNLOADS
	Community Survey Dec.'03 (PDF - 72k)	Results of 74 questions asked - Dec. 13, 2003 Town of Vienna survey
DOWNLOADS of the TOWN OF VIENNA COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DRAFT   (Comprises five individual sections, as represented individually below in PDF form)
	Download 2005 Comprehensive Plan (Acrobat PDF file - 772k)	This document details the latest comprehensive town plan, with information covering all pertinent township elements (53pp).
	Download Issues & Opportunities (Acrobat PDF file - 968k)	This document contains the local Town of Vienna goals & objectives as well as commercial and residential ordinances and related information.
	Download Housing Info Appendix (Acrobat PDF file - 640k)	This document contains local housing-related information.
	Download Transportation Information (Acrobat PDF file - 336k)	This document contains local road condition information, traffic volume information, and other related transportation information.
	Download Utilities & Facilities Info (Acrobat PDF file - 892k)	Uiltities and communication facilities (incl. public works) data and related information.
	Download Ag, Natural & Cultural Appendix (Acrobat PDF file - 1800k)	Appendix of information related to agricultural, natural and cultural resources. (incl. tables and maps)
	Download Economic Development Appendix (Acrobat PDF file - 40k)	Appendix of economic base data and development-related information from MSA Project 0120125.
	Download Intergovernmental Cooperation Appendix (Acrobat PDF file - 800k)	Appendix lists information germane to intergovernmental bodies in the area and regional arrangements, relationships and cooperative efforts.
	Download Land Use Appendix (Acrobat PDF file - 912k)	Appendix lists land-use information, including categories and definitions that apply in the township, and applicable maps.

Page, PDF links and listings updated 5 August 2005. Copyright, 2005, Township of Vienna, Dane County, Wisconsin.