Please see national positions on the National League website.

Please see Wisconsin state positions on the Wisconsin State League website.

League of Women Voters of Door County

Position on Land Use Planning

May 1984

I. The League favors the appointment of non-elected citizens to serve on planning bodies including the Door County Planning Committee, the Sturgeon Bay Plan Commission, and other county, city, and town or village planning bodies.

II. The League supports regular in-service training on laws, procedures, and planning principles for both elected and appointed members of planning bodies and for professional planning staff.

III. The League supports formation of a citizen’s advisory group to assist and guide planning bodies and professional planning staff during the development of any new or revised comprehensive plan for the county or for municipalities. The League believes this advisory group should include both men and women and should be representative of various areas within the planning area. The League also feels the advisory committee should include some representation of businesses, realtors, farmers, citizens’ advocacy groups such as the League of Women Voters, part-time residents, and members of town/village plan committees. The League feels it is important that members of a citizens’ advisory group be people who are in basic agreement with the principles of planning.

The League feels it is important that any new comprehensive plans address the following issues: economic development; preservation of scenic/historic resources; protection of fragile, ecologically important lands; wetlands preservation; school services; public utilities; transportation; sanitary waste disposal; highways and roads, services and parking; social services; housing needs; fire and police protection; and water-front use and harbors. The League feels it is important that any new comprehensive plan contains a policy for implementing that plan and that it is important to coordinate any new plan with existing plans that are still viable.

The League believes planning bodies should outline annual planning objectives (which are based on a comprehensive plan where there is one) and should develop a program to meet these objectives. Planning bodies should adhere to the goals and policies contained in the comprehensive plan when making decisions unless there is a clear and unavoidable reason for not doing so. Where there is an updated comprehensive plan available existing zoning and subdivision ordinances should be amended to reflect the goals and policies set forth in the plan.

IV. The League considered several questions related to communications between planning bodies and the public and between planning bodies and other government bodies or public agencies. It is the consensus of the League that planning committees/commissions should hold periodic, public forums to receive ideas and comments on current planning practices and that such planning body should play an educational role in informing the public about planning goals and practices.

The League also feels it is important for planning committees/ commissions to request the input of school boards and public utilities at public hearings on matters that affect their ability to efficiently deliver services. The League also feels county planning bodies should actively seek the opinion of town boards and plan committees regarding requests that come before the county planning body for zoning changes, conditional use permits and variances.

V. The League considered the decision-making processes used when planning bodies make decisions regarding zoning changes, conditional use permits, and variances. The League feels city and county planning staff should provide a formal written report regarding the particular request and this report should be available to the planning body members and the public before the date of the hearing.

The League feels such a written report should address whichever of the following issues apply in each particular case: sewage disposal; wetlands preservation; floodplain zoning; the Door County recreation plan; school services; public utilities; highway and road service and parking; present use of surrounding properties; police and fire protection; the soil conservation plan; the bridge corridor mini-plan; and the current comprehensive plan.

Regarding the decision-making process the League feels it is appropriate for planning bodies to question the party making the request for a zoning change, permit, or variance as to what alternatives are available; that professional staff should be requested to address available alternatives and their impact on the comprehensive plan, either at the hearing or in the formal written report; and the planning body should consider the availability of alternatives when making its decision.

VI. Regarding efficiency and financial support of planning services, the League believes the following ideas should be investigated by planning bodies and/or staff: expanding the size of planning committees/commissions to allow delegation of some responsibilities to sub-committees; streamlining of hearing procedures; and increasing the fees to more adequately cover the costs of processing applications.

The League of Women Voters favors reallocation of county and city resources to obtain more planning services for Sturgeon Bay and Door County. If reallocation of resources is not feasible the League supports finding new local revenue sources to obtain more planning services for Door County and Sturgeon Bay.

LWV Wisconsin Positions By Topic

It is what the League calls Program Process. It involves a timeline and sequence of steps from study to Position-Making. The League of Women Voters at all three levels has Position Papers on a variety of issues from which the League advocates or takes action.

At the local level, the process begins with a membership meeting to discuss issues facing the community. After discussion and consideration of a number of issues, one or two may be chosen to present to the membership for study. At the Annual Meeting in May, the membership discusses the items presented and will likely choose one issue for its study.

Now the process of study begins. Committee members are solicited from the membership. Once formed, the committee determines the scope of the study and the timeline. The Committee is charged with gathering information to disseminate to the membership so that all are educated and informed on the specifics of the study. During the study phase, members have an opportunity to examine the facts and to examine key pro/con points. Special speakers may be brought in to offer a variety of perspectives on the issue. It is here that the league invites the public to informational forums to learn about the topic.

The study culminates with a membership meeting called the Consensus Meeting. It is at this spirited meeting that the position begins to take shape.Consensus is the process the League uses to reach member agreement on study issues. The group responds to questions posed by the study committee on the issue under study. Consensus is neither a simple majority nor unanimity; instead, it is an overall sense of the group. In other words, consensus results from ​answers to questions on which members can find common ground and agreement.

The study committee then assesses the responses from the consensus meeting and formulates a position statement. This statement is presented to the Board of Directors who then presents it to the membership for consideration of adoption at the Annual Membership Meeting. When the position is adopted by the membership, it officially becomes a Position of the League of Women Voters of Door County.

The study process of the League of Women Voters makes subsequent League action on that issue uniquely credible and respected.