During the past several hundred years our forefathers really did not have to concern themselves with planning for growth. They had the opportunity to explore, develop, and travel a large undeveloped land with vast resources. The land seemingly offered limitless areas for development without impacting our environment. A lot has changed during the evolution of our country. We are reminded on a daily basis how our actions result in impacting our environment and our neighbors.
Growth is still good if it is orderly.
That is important if we want to assure a healthy, safe environment for generations to come. This issue of Environment 2001 sets out to paint a picture. We examine Smart Growth legislation which was passed by our Wisconsin Legislature in 1999 and modified in the Year 2000. It is a comprehensive piece of legislation which calls all municipalities in the state to develop a comprehensive growth plan by the year 2010. As you will see the law includes nine elements which must be addressed by each of the municipalities.