County plan aims to manage growth, but not stop it

By Judy Wiff

The first goal of a proposed St. Croix County Development Plan is to protect the county's rural character, but there's plenty of flexibility for the development that will probably come in the next 20 years, said County Planner Ellen Denzer.

The goal of the plan, which has been four years in the making, is "to do a better job of managing the growth that's going to come to St. Croix County so it's a better place for all the citizens to live," said Denzer.

By promoting cluster development, or in the plan's terminology "conservation site design," the plan aims to save 5,000 acres of open land over the next 20 years. The plan's goal is to keep the urban/rural population ratio as it is - a nearly 50/50 split.

More than 100 people attended two hearings on the plan last week. Suggestions made by those people will be considered by the Planning, Zoning and Parks Committee.

If the committee decides to make major changes in the plan, the document will probably be sent back to the steering committee for its review, said Denzer.

If no major changes are made, the document will go on to the County Board, which may either adopt the plan or send it back with suggested revisions. Denzer predicted the plan could be adopted in either December or January.

This plan, which is not a zoning ordinance, doesn't require town approval, said Denzer.

This is the county's first master plan for land use, said Denzer. Most of the work on the document was done by a steering committee, county planners and the West Central Regional Planning Commission.

Denzer said the plan is the outcome of more than 100 committee and subcommittee meetings and 15 public hearings or open houses. The plan has been revised four times.

Chapters include a physical features analysis, trends analysis, analysis of existing policies, the develop-