Welcome to the Town of Clyde!

Town of Clyde Long Range Plan Information

History

In August of 1992 the Town of Clyde formally adopted a Long Range Plan. Prior to adoption of the Plan, a planning committee reviewed existing plans from neighboring towns, held public hearings and sent out a questionnaire to Clyde residents. This information as used as the basis for the Clyde Long Range Plan. A final draft was completed and approved by Town residents at a public meeting and then approved by the Town Board. At this point the Town also adopted Village powers, a step required at that time to insure the legality of the Plan.

The original plan was 12 pages long. It specified a minimum acreage size for building sites. It established policies to deal with environmental concerns and other practices to preserve the rural character of the Town. It also contained standards for commercial and agricultural development. Another section of the plan established a permanent 7 member committee to review proposed land use and zoning changes. For the next 12 years this plan was used to guide the Committee and Town Board in decisions regarding land use.

In 2004 the State of Wisconsin passed a law requiring all town and municipalities in the state to establish a Long Range Plan if they did not already have one. Although Clyde did have one, it was deemed necessary at the time to revise the Plan using standards established by the Southwestern Regional Planning Commission. The SWRPC is an agency that serves county, town and city governments in its area. After a lengthy review process that again included public input as well as guidance from SWRPC, a revised plan was approved and adopted by the Town Board on Nov 9th, 2004.

The current plan is approximately 250 pages. It contains valuable information regarding Town geography, history, demographics, agriculture and natural resources. However, the core of the plan remains much the same as in the original one. It is located in Section H, Land Use Element. The entire plan can be found later on this page.

How It Works

Iowa County is the zoning authority for the Town Of Clyde. (www.iowacounty.org/P&D) However, since the establishment of the Clyde Long Range Plan, the zoning office at Iowa County sends anyone asking for a zoning or land use change to the Town Plan Commission for its approval as the first step in the process. The feeling of both state and county agencies is that decisions regarding land use change approvals or disapprovals should be handled at the local level, since these are the people directly affected by these decisions.

The Clyde Long Range Planning Commission meets on an as needed basis on the second Tuesdays of the month, prior to Town Board meetings. Applications are reviewed and any action taken by the Commission is then forwarded to the Town Board. The Town Board at its meeting then formally makes a recommendation which is turned over to the County zoning office. The applicant must then take the steps necessary at the County level to get his application approved by Iowa County Zoning.

Membership

The Clyde Long Range Planning Commission consists of 7 members. They are appointed by the Town Board for indefinite terms. Below is a list of the current members. Please note that Linda Kane is the Town Clerk and is not Plan Commission member. However, she also acts as the Clerk for the Plan Commission. Anyone interested in being on the Commission should contact the Chairman.

Bob Dries
3884 CTH C
Spring Green 53588
583-2241
fastnet@mhtc.net

Melody Walker
2954 CTH I
Avoca, WI 53506
583-4074
melrod@merr.com

Tom Landmann (Chair)
6337 County Road N
Avoca, WI 53506
532-6070 (office)
843-0861 (cell)
clrp@upsidedownkingdom.org

Gerald Brennum
3070 CTH I
Avoca 53506
583-2442

Dave Price
3093 CTH I
Avoca 53506
583-2541
christy.price@landsend.com

Chip Hay
PO Box 833
Spring Green 53588
532-6453
chip.hay@att.net

Dennis Gilbertson
3570 CTH C
Spring Green WI 53588
583-2115 (7 – 11 am)
gilbptr@.merr.com

Linda Kane (Town Clerk)
6281 STH 130
Avoca 53506
583-2156
townofclyde@dishmail.net

Applications

An application form for Land Use changes in the Town of Clyde is available as an attachment at the bottom of this page. Please read the instructions carefully. If you then have questions, please call or e-mail Tom Landmann, the current chairman.

Meetings

The Clyde Long Range Plan Commission meets on an as needed basis on the second Tuesday of the month. Applications must be filed 3 weeks prior to a meeting date with the Town Clerk. This allows enough time for the Commission members, adjacent neighbors and other interested parties to be notified. Many residents are under the impression that they have to be notified personally about Town meetings. This is not the case according to state open meetings law. All that is required is a public posting of the meetings 24 hours in advance. In Clyde these are generally done at the Clyde Community Center, Hy I and 130. However, as a courtesy the LRPC has made it a policy to notify adjacent property owners about land use applications that may affect them. This assumes names, addresses etc are readily available.

Agendas

Agendas for up coming meetings will be posted on this site when at all practical. As of 2008 the state has not yet ruled on whether posting on a website constitutes a public posting. LRPC meeting notice postings (agendas) will continue to the made at the Clyde Community Center.

Other Considerations

The Town of Clyde also has a driveway ordinance. It may also impact on any plans you have regarding your plans for land use. Contact the Town Chairman Jesse Gilbertson for more information regarding driveways.

The Town of Clyde also requires building permits for any new 1 or 2 family building construction. This is in addition to any zoning permits issued by Iowa County. Contact Bob Dries for more information (chair of LRPC).

A Point Of Information

Zoning, regardless of the process, has sometimes resulted in contentious issues for local governments. As it currently stands, zoning/land use decisions made by the Town LRPC and Town Board are recommendations that are passed on to the County Zoning Committee. Although these recommendations carry a great deal of weight with the County Zoning Committee, it is within their authority to deny or approve an application contrary to the Town recommendation. To further complicate the matter, the County Board can reverse a County Zoning Committee decision with a ¾ majority vote. In all of these steps it is the responsibility of the Town residents impacted by the zoning decision to attend all of the necessary meetings and make their opinions known if they wish to have an impact on the final decision