MONROE — With an eye on encouraging future growth and development, Monroe officials are working to update the city’s comprehensive plan.
And with all the challenges facing the city — including a need to increase housing stock — the plan is vital to ensure a vibrant future that leaders have a say in crafting.
“A comprehensive plan is a community-driven planning effort to enhance or maintain the assets of Monroe and prepare the city to take advantage of future opportunities,” City Administrator Brittney Rindy wrote to the council recently in a memo notifying them of the 2025 plan update process. “It is recommended to update the Comprehensive Plan every ten years and is required by State Statute to remain eligible for certain grants and aid. Despite the requirement, a lot of changes have occurred over the last ten years with many new opportunities on the horizon.”
The existing plan was created in 2016 and covers the period from 2015 to 2035, she said. That document was developed in partnership with Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SWWRPC), one of nine such planning agencies tapped with assisting local governments in the state.
SWWRPC serves Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland counties.
“Obviously there’s been a lot of changes in our community,” Rindy said, alluding to new developments, including the Haven Hills project on the far northwest edge of town. “It’s an important time for us to begin this process.”
Alders and mayor Donna Douglas agreed to work with SWWRPC again, saying the agency is well-qualified and its work has benefited the city in the past.
Speaking at the Aug. 19 common council meeting, Rindy said the process of updating the plan will likely begin around Jan. 1, 2025.
Highlights of the existing comprehensive plan include:
● Improve the quantity of safe, quality, and affordable rental properties.
● Increase a diverse range of mod ern, aesthetically pleasing housing supply and housing resources.
● Increase the efficiency of existing transit services and future investments.
● Increase intergovernmental coordination on infrastructure maintenance and development.
● Sustain current funding, and identify ways to increase and diversify funding for existing local community resources.
● Adapt resources to accommodate the anticipated demographic shifts.
● Improve communication with the public on utility and public safety issues.
● Meet the EPA standards for phosphorus levels.
● Capitalize on the ability of the Wastewater Treatment Facility to use high strength waste to create energy.
● Allow development with higher densities and a greater range of uses throughout Monroe while maintaining an attractive aesthetic.
● Repurpose existing land to increase the number of parks and athletic fields to meet current demand.
The complete existing plan, including methodology and information on various stakeholders, can be viewed on the city’s website.