Protecting Coastal Investment: Examples of Regulations for Wisconsin's Coastal Communities

摘要

Wisconsin's Great Lakes coastal communities have been attempting to address coastal hazards for decades. In 1981 the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program published Regulations to Reduce Coastal Erosion Losses by Doug Yanggen of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The report included erosion hazard provisions that could be included in local zoning and subdivision ordinances based on geologic and engineering studies available at the time. A recent inventory of coastal ordinances in Wisconsin's coastal communities showed that Wisconsin communities have taken a variety of approaches to address coastal hazards. Racine County's ordinance includes variations of the Yanggen model ordinance that conform closely to the intent of the model. A number of other local ordinances reflect at least some of the concepts of the report, indicating that the report did influence the evolution of local approaches used by local governments to address coastal issues. A summary of the inventory appears in the Appendix. This publication seeks to provide some best practices for addressing coastal hazards in Wisconsin. Many of the best practices are based on ordinances that are currently in place in Wisconsin coastal communities. Some of the best practices build off approaches followed in other coastal states. This publication is intended to serve as a resource guide for coastal communities that are evaluating different approaches to dealing with coastal erosion. The publication includes ordinance language that can be included in local ordinances to address locally identified needs. The ordinance provisions are accompanied by explanatory commentary. The Appendix also allows coastal communities to examine the approaches followed by other Wisconsin communities.