Planner's Toolbox - Smart Forestry for Smart Growth

Element: Land Use

What is this element and how is forestry connected to it?

This element allows for the opportunity to evaluate the types of forest uses there are in your community as well as planning for what types of land uses your community would like to see in the future. Mixed use of forests and recreational demands for forests should also be evaluated and discussed in this element. More forests are being used and managed for multiple economic and other benefits. For example, many forest areas can support both timber removal and recreation. There are, however, trade-offs that are made when choosing what benefits to use a forest for. Some uses-like wilderness-preclude other uses-like timber harvest. Because these activities rely on the same resource base, it will become increasingly important to coordinate activities in a way that will allow many uses of the forest as well as plans for potential land use conflicts.

Tools

Use the tools below to develop goals, objectives, and policies that address this element.

Consider Related Issues

Fire in the Wildland Urban Interface
Forest Health
Forest Fragmentation
Forest Ownership and Parcelization
Forest-based Recreation
Strong Forest Economy


Statutory Language

Wis. Stats. s. 66.1001(2)(h) Land Use
A compilation of objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs to guide the future development and redevelopment of public and private property. The element shall contain a listing of the amount, type, intensity and net density of existing uses of land in the local governmental unit, such as agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial and other public and private uses. The element shall analyze trends in the supply, demand and price of land, opportunities for redevelopment and existing and potential land-use conflicts. The element shall contain projections, based on the background information specified in par. (a), for 20 years, in 5-year increments, of future residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial land uses including the assumptions of net densities or other spatial assumptions upon which the projections are based. The element shall also include a series of maps that shows current land uses and future land uses that indicate productive agricultural soils, natural limitations for building site development, floodplains, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive lands, the boundaries of areas to which services of public utilities and community facilities, as those terms are used in par. (d), will be provided in the future, consistent with the timetable described in par. (d), and the general location of future land uses by net density or other classifications.


Last Revised: Monday July 30 2007