Making an Impact: Community Development August 2021

Kevin Struck, Community Development Educator The Community Development Educator provided public hearing, resolution, and ordinance templates, draft maps, and guidance to the Town of Herman as it went through the process of revising the future land use map within its Comprehensive Plan to allow for a business/research park expansion of Lakeland University. During the public […]

Making an Impact: Community Development July 2021

Kevin Stuck, Community Development Educator Cyberattacks on infrastructure are becoming increasingly frequent, as almost daily national headlines confirm. To assess how prepared local water utilities are to protect their systems against such attacks, Kevin created and mailed a 12-question survey to all 11 water utilities in Sheboygan County. The questions arose out of his extensive […]

Making an Impact: Community Development June 2021

Kevin Stuck, Community Development Educator Co-hosted an educational Zoom session for 21 Town of Holland households that had participated in a well water testing program coordinated by the Sheboygan County Extension Office in partnership with the Center for Watershed Science and Education at UW-Stevens Point. Participants learned the basics about groundwater, well construction, potential contaminants, […]

Well Water Testing in Town of Holland

Since 2011, Kevin has conducted 13 voluntary well water testing events in Sheboygan County towns, including the most recent in the Town of Holland. The Town’s residents submitted 99 tests, which Kevin collected on April 12th and then transported to the lab at UW-Stevens Point the following day for analysis. Town officials were happy with […]

Land Use, Zoning, and Other Questions

This month marks one year since the coronavirus pandemic began to significantly impact the U.S. Based on phone logs and email records, Kevin answered 124 questions from local officials, developers, and citizens over that one-year period. Here’s a sample of topics: Farmland preservation zoning “Tiny homes” Well water quality Impacts of dam removal Allowability of […]

FARMLAND PRESERVATION PROPERTY TAX CREDITS

The snapshot of a recent newspaper article below captures one example of the integral role Kevin has played in assisting local towns over the last few years as they have updated their land use plans and Farmland Preservation zoning. In each case, the goal has been to strike a good balance between growth and preservation. […]

CORRECTING IMPROPER ZONING GIVES LOT OWNERS MORE OPTIONS

Over the years, Kevin has played a key role in helping local communities correct inadvertent zoning errors or improper zoning designations on some properties that may have unnecessarily limited how those landowners could improve their property. Most recently, 13 residential lots in the Town of Scott were discovered as being zoned “B-4 Planned Commercial-Recreation Business […]

Testing Census Data Accuracy for Small Geographies

Due to the increasing need for up-to-date data in a fast-paced world, the U.S. Census Bureau created the American Community Survey (ACS) in the early 2000s to replace the “long-form” Census survey. Like the long-form once did, the ACS gathers information about housing, education, income, occupations, and much more from a sample of the U.S. […]

How Many Pole Buildings Are Too Many?

Accessory buildings in a residential zoning district are buildings like a detached garage or a pole building that are secondary to the house, which is considered the main building on the lot. In the last few years the perception is growing in a few places that accessory buildings on some residential lots, especially in suburban […]

Who would I talk to about what we can fill an abandoned cistern with?

Kevin has continued to receive questions on a wide variety of local issues. Here is a recent question from a local village president, some interesting background information, and the answer to the question. Q: Who would I talk to about what we can fill an abandoned cistern with? Background: Cisterns are small underground reservoirs for […]

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