Evansville envisions Smart Growth

By Danielle Letenyei
Gazette Staff

EVANSVILLE-Manage growth, work with surrounding communities and maintain an atmosphere that makes Evansville an attractive place to live.

Those are among the priorities in a draft version of the city's Smart Growth plan.

A listening session on the plan was held Thursday. The plan was written in accordance with the state's 1999 Comprehensive Planning Law, which requires Wisconsin communities to create development plans by 2010.

Evansville's plan was created by a group of volunteers called the Evansville Smart Growth Plan Committee. It includes representatives from the city, school district and neighboring communities, as well as interested residents.

In July 2003, the city hired planner Amy Emery of Omni Associates of Appleton to help create the Smart Growth Plan. Emery presented the committee's work Thursday.

"I have fallen in love with this community," Emery said. "It's not every day that I get to work in a community as special as this one."

The plan, included in a 224-page document, looks at what exists in the city, what is desired and the goals, objectives and policies that are needed to get from where it is today to where it wants to be in 20 years, Emery said.

The plan is just that. It is not set in stone and can be amended, Emery said. Any amendments would require a public hearing.

Five underlying themes were established in the plan, Emery said:

-- Balance the desire for continued growth with the desire to maintain the city's small-town atmosphere.

-- Design new residential development to be more attractive to people who want to live in an urban rather than a rural setting.

-- Improve mobility and accessibility options available within a comprehensive transportation network.

-- Provide areas for and create a climate to encourage new service, retail, office, commercial and light industrial development.

-- Provide abundant recreational choices for residents of all ages with varying interests and desires.

Emery talked about the need to allow for traditional neighborhood development and walkable development patterns. The plan doesn't recommend that development continue the way it has been, she said.

"Rather than having a residential community that looks like everywhere U.S.A., have it look unique," Emery said. "You want to retain that walkable quality that you have."

The plan includes pictures of the existing downtown along with composite drawings of what it could look like. The plan also calls for improvements to the Allen Creek corridor downtown to make it an attractive place for residents and visitors to walk between businesses.

The city must have open communication with surrounding town of Union and the Evansville School District as it grows. The plan calls for inviting representatives of the school district, Rock County Planning Department and others to meetings where city staff will review proposed subdivisions with developers.

Every two years, the city will host an intergovernmental workshop to discuss concerns and plans, exchange ideas, report achievements and appoint action teams.

Three members of the Union Township Smart Growth committee addressed their concerns about the Evansville plan. One of their primary concerns was providing access to Highway 14 from the city's west side, where most of the new homes are being built.

Kim Gruebling, Union representative, said town officials would like to meet with city officials to explore the issue of a possible bypass to the highway.

"We would be more than happy to sit down and coordinate where we all want (a bypass) to go," Evansville Mayor Janis Ringhand said.

No objections were made to the new land-use map of future development in the city. Most of the concerns involved implementation of elements in the plan.

Emery estimated that the public hearing in front of the Evansville City Council will be held in early June.

To learn more Copies of Evansville's Smart Growth plan can be found on the Internet at www.omnni.com/ ActiveProjects/ Evansville.htm.