Be Proactive: Turn your Plan into Action

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Be Proactive Turn your Plan into Action
Jenny EricksonSauk County UW-ExtensionCommunity
Resource Development Educator
Sauk County Plan Commission WorkshopNovember 28,
2007
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Where is Your Plan?
Does this look familiar? Dust it off Start
taking action!! Dont wait for a request.
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Our Plan has been Adopted, Now Lets Get Started!
Plan Commission Handbook, May 2002
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A Plan is Only as Good as its Implementation!
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Implementation How tough can this be?
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AHHHH.

I thought you were volunteers?
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Start with Your Vision..
A vision is an end state. It is what you want to
look like in 20 years. It should help to guide
your decision making process.
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Town of Honey Creek Vision
Picture it Over the next 20 years, the
predominant visual character of Honey Creek will
be a scenic rural landscape of heavily forested
bluffs towering over broad fertile valleys and
well maintained family farms

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Honey Creek Example
Vision Preserve/create traditional rural
character of their community Vision Continue
tradition of community decision making They
started with Land Use. Developed a Joint Master
Plan for Leland and Denzer designed to promote
traditional neighborhoods, housing design and
enduring architecture.
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So How Do We Get There?

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What Should We Do First? --Decision Making--
Generate
Prioritize
Organize

Lots of ways to prioritize and every community
will be different.
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Prioritizing Examples

• 1.) Ask focus groups to rank policies for each
  element based on urgency.
• Priority 1 Immediate (2007)
• Priority 2 Short Term (2008-2010)
• Priority 3 Mid Term (2011-2013)
• Priority 4 Long Range (2013-2023)
• Priority 5 Future Consideration (2024)

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Prioritizing Examples
2.) Use criteria to prioritize policies
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More criteria
What is the easiest? What are the pressing issues
in your community? What needs to happen
first? What do you have the resources (time,
energy money) to tackle? Where is there momentum
already? Where are there resources to help? Where
are partnerships possible? What are we good at
already? What we can build on?
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Prioritizing Examples
3.) Chose a goal and pick policies to achieve it
Intergovernmental Goal Identify and establish
mutually beneficial relations with neighboring
units of government and Sauk County Housing Goal
Manage new and existing housing developments to
maintain the rural character
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Prioritizing Examples
4.)
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Life After Policies..
Generate
Prioritize
Organize

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-Bite Sized Actions-

• Brainstorm specific action steps that will
  implement your policies.

NRCP3 Enhance wildlife habitat by encouraging
landowners to develop wildlife sanctuaries,
windbreaks

• Get creative Who else cares about this? Who
  else benefits from this?? How can we work
  together?

BE REALISTIC TO AVOID BURNOUT!
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Develop Your Action Plan
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How Will You Know When You Get There?

• Define success.
• How will you measure it?

Three new windbreaks will be planted in 2009 as a
result of the new incentive program.
OR
All new driveways installed will satisfied the
safety and habitat fragmentation standards
outlined in the Plan.
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DO SOMETHING!!

• This is a big plan and it will take time so
• Get the ball rolling
• Make Progress
• Have fun and
• Celebrate your successes along the way!