TND law compliance picks up

Wisconsin’s smart growth law required, among other provisions, cities and villages with populations above 12,500 to adopt a model traditional neighborhood development (TND) ordinance by January 2002. The idea behind the statewide model ordinance — a unique concept — was to remove a big barrier to developers to proposing TNDs. Because holding land before it can be developed is one of the biggest costs for developers, few would take a chance on proposing a TND if the local zoning code did not allow it. Developers are reluctant to fight city hall over changes to lot size, building setbacks, street widths, and other details. Conventional suburban development was the shortest, most profitable route. The hope was that if communities had TND ordinances, more such projects would be proposed. So, how are Wisconsin communities doing so far in adopting the new ordinances? 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, a citizen group that conceived and advocated for the model TND ordinance provision, decided to follow up with each of the communities. The results were encouraging but more work needs to be done. Twenty-two communities (39 percent) of the 57 communities required to have a TND ordinance enacted one or have made changes to their existing code to facilitate TNDs. (However, it should be noted that many of these ordinances simply refer to the model TND ordinance as a guide.) An additional 17 communities (30 percent) are in the development process. The other 18 communities reported no progress to 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, which conducted the survey in June, 2002. communities deserve special attention • River Falls passed an ordinance, complete with color photos and illustrations, tailored to fit its needs. River Falls has also created an easily accessible, user-friendly introduction to the ordinance and the principles and objectives of TND, as well as the text of the ordinance itself, available on the web. See www.rfcity.org/comdev/comdev/zoning/tnd.htm. • Milwaukee made revisions throughout its entire zoning code to comply with the TND provision of smart growth law. Milwaukee’s initiative proves that TND ordinances are for communities that will experience infill development in the future as well as those that are pressing out into the neighboring countryside. • Although Kenosha has not yet passed its ordinance, its preliminary draft will incorporate some of the most innovative aspects of New Urbanism planning and design. • In Dane County, Fitchburg, Madison, Middleton and Sun Prairie, the four communities required to pass an ordinance, are working together with other communities to develop identical or very similar ordinances throughout the county. Notably, Sun Prairie was working on a TND ordinance before the state mandated one, and Mount Horeb, which is not required by law to develop a TND, is doing so on its own accord. Significant progress on TND ordinances has been made in the last year, and Wisconsin communities will continue to move forward in this evolving process. For more information, see the web site www.1kfriends.org. L. Ward Lyles is a research intern with 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. Prof. Brian Ohm, Lisa MacKinnon, Nick Lelack and Dave Cieslewicz contributed.