Plan Commissions have two key roles: planning and plan implementation (usually including land use regulation). For planning purposes, Commissions are authorized to prepare a comprehensive plan and recommend its adoption to the governing body that adopts the plan as an ordinance by majority vote. Commissions do not have the authority to adopt or amend the plan on behalf of local governing bodies. Important potential commission roles include sponsoring the planning process for their community, putting in motion the community's public participation plan for later adoption by the local board, and ensuring that as many points of view as possible are expressed in the course of the planning process. Some commissions oversee development of a request for proposals for professional planning services at the beginning of the process, or sponsor development of an action agenda that establishes priority strategies for plan implementation. (Note: Some local governments use other names for their commission, e.g., planning and zoning committee, zoning committee, or land use committee particularly related to county government. Cities, villages and towns with village powers should use the term plan commission since state statutes delegate specific powers to that body.)

The elected governing bodies of general purpose local units of government or their chief presiding officers are responsible for appointment of plan commissions and ultimately for adoption of local plans and implementing measures including land use ordinances. Elected and appointed officials provide leadership for a fair, open planning process, one that recognizes public and private interests, and seeks to balance community development needs with conservation needs. The appointment of a diverse comprehensive plan committee is a critical element of this leadership role.

Citizens are local experts on the issues & broader trends affecting their communities. Public input should be emphasized before, during and after comprehensive plan development. Directly, through participation in public meetings, focus groups and the like, and less directly, by responding to household surveys and informal discussions with neighbors, the public offers local perspectives and opinions that provide a non-technical focus for key issues addressed in the planning process. A range of opinions makes your plan stronger. The perennial challenge is getting significant input from the public in the planning process.

The local clerk at the town or village levels or zoning staff in counties or larger municipalities often play a pivotal role to ensure that proper procedures are followed, such as notices in the local paper, plan adoption requirements, etc.

The local governing body may appoint an ad hoc advisory committee, sometimes called a citizens advisory committee or comprehensive planning committee, to sponsor and lead the process of developing the comprehensive plan. The plan commission, however, still has the legal responsibility to review and recommend approval of any plan brought back by the planning advisory committee.

Professional planners act as core providers of technical services for comprehensive planning. They bring training and experience through the use of such methods as economic profiling, population projections, and land use regulation techniques. County planners often help county communities get organized for planning, develop and adopt public participation plans, explore community visions and goals for the future, and assist, as staff resources allow, in informational and technical aspects of plan and plan implementation. The department may provide geographic information systems (GIS) mapping data in support of municipal planning initiatives.

As we have noted in other parts of this handbook, planning and its internal process rests on legal principles, statutes, and codes. If the plan commission is consistent with their application of the rules, applicants who bring lawyers to plan commission meetings may differ in their interpretation of statutes or local codes, but it does not mean that the plan commission is wrong. If you have made decisions based on the law and have minutes of your meetings, threats to your decisions should not fluster you.

Developers and builders represent the private sector side of planning and development. They are the people and companies that build subdivisions and other development based on codes and regulations that a community has in place. While developers and builders may complain about regulations, they appreciate a place where the process for obtaining permits is streamlined, is transparent (there are no hidden costs or requirements), and expectations are clear, even though that place may be highly regulated. They operate on the basis of supply and demand. If your community has few regulations, but it�s not clear how to get a permit, developers may go to a neighboring community where the process is transparent and it�s easy to get a permit despite many more regulations.

Involve the media from the outset of a planning process. The media provides education and knowledge on current events. At the same time the media may need to be educated about planning and planning issues. The media can keep the public aware of a current planning process and planning issues in general. Thus, using the media is a good way to get information out to the public.

Each community is part of a larger network of neighboring towns, villages and cities. Local land use decisions can have impacts outside a jurisdiction�s own boundaries. Wisconsin�s comprehensive planning law and the State�s comprehensive planning grant application process recognize the need for intergovernmental coordination. The law asks for each local government to include an intergovernmental coordination element within its comprehensive plan to address consistencies between and among plans of different jurisdictions and to address how to deal with conflict if it should arise in the future over land use matters.

County Co-op Extension faculty seek to improve the quality of local decisions by providing public, private and non-profit clients with information, targeted research results, and process support.

Bussiere, Merritt. 2001. Comprehensive Basics In-Service, June 12-14.

Senville, Wayne M. 2000. Welcome to the Commission! A Guide for New Members. Champlain Planning Press, Inc., Burlington, VT.