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Congress Considers Federal Land-Use Legislation
by Tom Larson
Congress is currently considering the Community Character Act (S. 975 and H.R. 1433), a $25 million-per-year proposal that would provide grants to state and tribal governments for the development of state and local land-use plans. Proponents of the bill claim that the funding would provide incentives and resources to assist local communities and states in developing responses to the various land-use issues facing them.
Opponents of the bill are calling it the "Federal Zoning Act" and claim its passage would lead to federal control of states' rights to manage their own land use issues. They oppose the bill because it calls for "the development of plans that are consistent with established professional land-use planning standards," noting that the American Planning Association authored those standards.
The Bush administration is reportedly opposed to the legislation, seeing it as a top-down approach to land-use planning. If passed, they maintain it would undermine traditional property rights and local control of community affairs, a step they say is beyond federal mandate. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), had of the House's Western Caucus, called it a "backdoor attempt to squash property rights."
The Community Character Act, which has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, is currently stuck in committee. The bill's sponsors are hoping for a floor vote sometime before the fall recess, but a vote has yet to be scheduled.
For more information on the bills, see www.house.gov
and www.senate.gov. to develop appropriate responses based on "smart growth" federal-mandated zoning regulations.
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Changes to Shoreland Zoning Rules On the Horizon
by Tom Larson
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will soon begin the process of revising NR 115-the state's shoreland zoning regulations. One of the first steps in the process will be to name a public-private working group, consisting of representatives from various organizations, to assist the DNR in the rule-making process. According to Al Shea, Director of the DNR Bureau of Watershed Management, the responsibilities of the committee and the names of the committee members are almost finalized, but no final decisions have been made. However, Al has indicated that the WRA will be represented on the working group when it is named.
Some of the shoreland zoning issues that will likely be addressed during this process include minimum setback requirements, natural vegetative cover requirements, and nonconforming uses. Setback issues relate to how far buildings must be from the water's ordinary high water mark ("OHWM"). The state shoreland zoning regulations require buildings to be at least 75 feet from the OHWM, but local communities are able to increase this distance as part of their local zoning powers. Natural vegetative cover requirements dictate how much of the natural trees and shrubbery must remain undisturbed on developed properties. The most common type of nonconforming uses are buildings located closer to the OHWM than the setback requirement allows. Generally speaking, these are the "hot-button" issues that generate most of the controversy at the local level for property owners and local officials alike.
The WRA will be actively involved in the discussions related to NR 115 and will seek
REALTORŪ input throughout the process. To stay abreast of the status of the NR 115 revision process, please look for future articles in the Wisconsin
REALTORŪ newsletter, the WRA Web site
or contact Tom Larson.
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