In-Progress Draft of Smart Growth Plan Available

The Town's Smart Growth Plan is about half-way done, with a first draft of the background information, goals and objectives, and existing conditions chapters available at the Town's Smart Growth Website. The detailed "planning" chapters (related to policies and actions the Town will make to carry out the plan) are in the process of being developed, and will be posted following January meetings. Stay tuned to the blog for dates & times of the January sessions.

Goals and Objectives to be Finalized at October 8 Meeting

As part of its Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning process, the Town of Beloit is inviting people who live, work, play, rent, or own property in the Town to join in a focused discussion on the community’s goals, objectives, values, and vision with respect to its Comprehensive “Smart Growth” Plan. The meeting, to be held on Wednesday, October 8 at the Beloit Town Hall, is to be hosted by the Town Plan Commission and will be facilitated by professional planners from RH Batterman & Company, a Town of Beloit-based Surveying, Engineering, and Planning firm since 1917. Over the course of several meetings, the Town has come together to focus on important long-range issues such as land use, housing, parks, and transportation, and the October 8 meeting will tie together the critical goals that emerged from those meetings and direct the rest of the Planning process. All members of the public are welcome and encouraged to attend and participate. A working draft of the Town's Smart Growth Goals and Objectives can be found at the Town's Smart Growth Website. The meeting details:
Smart Growth Goals & Objectives Workshop
Wednesday, October 8 – 4:15 p.m.
Beloit Town Hall
2871 South Afton Road (County Road D)

Draft Goals and Objectives On-Line Now

We've completed a first draft of the Town's Goals and Objectives for the Smart Growth Plan, and they can be viewed here. The Goals and Objectives for the Town’s plan form its backbone. I really must stress that this stage of the planning process is perhaps the most important. In simplest terms, the goals and objectives that we agree on will serve as my “checklist” as we develop the plan maps, text, and recommendations. They will guide the rest of the process from here on out, so it is very important that we’re touching on the right points and in a manner that is consistent with the Town’s vision. The effectiveness and usability of the Plan in the future is greatly influenced by how appropriate and comprehensive the goals are, so my hope is that we’ve accomplished this and I count on you all to confirm or correct that.

The Plan Commission will meet on September 10 @ 4:15, Town Hall and a discussion on the Goals and Objectives will be a part of their agenda (be advised, they will likely have additional official business so please come prepared and stay on point). Or, if you have comments or suggestions and can't make the meeting, you can always submit comments in writing to:
Beloit Town Hall
c/o Smart Growth Plan
2871 Afton Road
Beloit, WI 53511

or via e-mail (rgarcia@rhbatterman.com or rmuseus.town.beloit@tds.net).

Parks Focus Group Completed; Goals & Objectives Being Developed

A very solid turnout last night at Town Hall for the Parks and Open Space focus group - thanks to all for coming and sharing your insight and comments. This was the last of our "input" sessions per se; we'll now start developing the Plan itself. The first step in this process is formalizing the primary goals and objectives of the Plan. This actually is a pretty involved and extremely important step - consider that there are 10 elements to our Plan and each has specific goals and objectives and you'll see that there will likely be dozens! We're targeting the September 10 Plan Commission Meeting for a public review and discussion of the draft goals & objectives, so PLEASE mark your calendars and help us out with this review and discussion. Our intention in developing the draft is to accurately represent the Town's values, vision, and priorities. With that said, it is critical that the community (citizens as well as elected/appointed officials) review the draft and comment/recommend changes where necessary. Keep your eye on this page for the draft goals and objectives as they develop, and remember: Wednesday, September 10 @ 4:15pm, Town Hall!

Smart Growth Website Back Up

After some kind of gaffe, the Town's Smart Growth Website is back up and running. You can review materials from the previous meetings, review the draft document, and also have a "sneak peek" at the materials for this Wednesday's (August 13) meeting - a Parks and Open Space Focus Group/Workshop which will be held at 7 pm at Beloit Town Hall, 2871 Afton Road. Hope to see many of you there!

Smart Growth Website Down

For some reason, the website we set up to host all of the Smart Growth information has been disabled. I've contacted the administrators and hope to receive some info soon. In the meantime, anyone who needs any of the materials from any past meetings or the upcoming Parks Element workshop (Wed. 8/13 @ 7pm - Town Hall), just send an e-mail. Sorry for the technical difficulties!

Housing Focus Group Completed; Parks next

We held a pretty well-attended Housing focus group this Wednesday - a big thanks to everyone for their dedication and passion for their community. I'm hopeful we'll continue to see yours and more new faces as we continue on! For those who missed the meeting, or for those who were there and would like to review or look a little further in to some of the items we only had a chance to touch upon (sorry about that), you can find materials from the meeting here.

Our next meeting will be on Wed., August 13 @ 7pm, again over at Town Hall. This meeting will be held to bring some ideas to the table for park, recreation, and open space improvements in the Town and to look at where it might be appropriate to plan for new park and open space land in the future. Please spread the word!

Errors - Parks Notice

Noticing from some of the local papers that the meeting we're holding to discuss the Parks and Open Space Element is listed as August 6 @ 7 pm at McKearn Park. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS HAS BEEN CHANGED!!! The Parks and Open Space element focus group will be held Wed., August 13 @ 7pm at the Town Hall. We're terribly sorry for the confusion.

In the News

The Janesville Gazette ran an article last week about the Town's Smart Growth Planning Process. Thanks Ann Marie and the Gazette for helping to "get the word out!"

Project Website Set Up

We've set up a website for the Smart Growth Plan. We'll continue to update this with workshop packets, meeting dates, progress reports, and the latest drafts of the Plan - in fact, it's already been updated with the latest draft of the plan and the first few packets of information we've shared with the Plan Commission and Parks Committee. Please check it out, and don't forget to come to Town Hall next Wednesday @ 6 pm for the Housing Element Focus Group!

Working Draft of Document Available Now

A working draft of the Town of Beloit's Comprehensive (Smart Growth) Plan is and will continue to be available at the Beloit Town Hall, 2871 S. Afton Road. As this is a working draft, it will continue to expand and develop over the next several months - hopefully with your help! The document and supportive information should also be available on the town's website (www.townofbeloit.org) relatively soon.

Planning Process Underway

The Town of Beloit is currently working on its Comprehensive Plan, commonly referred to as a "Smart Growth" Plan. The next Smart Growth meeting in the Town will be held on Wednesday, July 30th at 6 pm, at the Beloit Town Hall, 2871 South Afton Road. At this meeting, planners from RH Batterman & Co. (a Town of Beloit-based firm) will facilitate a discussion related to housing in the Town. The planning team will use detailed data, information, imagery, and maps to frame this open discussion, in order to solicit input and ideas to shape the Housing Element of the Town's Smart Growth Plan. This meeting will be hosted by the Plan Commission and is entirely open to all members of the public.