Guide to Community Planning in Wisconsin by Brian W. Ohm

Chapter 3:  The Plan Commission
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1.1  The Municipal Plan Commission

The Wisconsin Statutes allow a city, village, or town exercising village powers to form plan commissions. The law outlines the requirements for the formation and composition of the plan commission.(1)  The governing body may form a plan commission by ordinance. The ordinance can establish the membership of the plan commission to meet any composition chosen by the governing body.(2)  Absent an ordinance specifying a different membership, the Wisconsin Statutes state that the plan commission is to consist of seven members: the mayor (3)  (who chairs the plan commission), the president of the park board, the city engineer, an alderperson, and three citizens. If a municipality does not have an engineer or does not have a park board, the number of citizen members is increased so that the commission has seven members.(4) 

The alderperson shall be elected to the plan commission annually by a majority vote of the council.(5)  The citizen members are appointed by the mayor or village president for a three year term.(6) 

Towns with a population of less than 2,500, exercising zoning under village powers, also have the option of creating a plan commission of five members. The members consist of the town chairperson, who chairs the plan commission, the town engineer, the president of the park board, another member of the town board and one citizen. Additional citizen members need to be appointed if the town does not have an engineer or park board. (7) 

The citizen members should be people of recognized experience and qualifications. They also should be representative of the diversity of people that live in the community. Members of the commission in a larger, diverse community might include business leaders, homemakers, planners, attorneys, representatives of various racial and ethnic groups in the community, educators, and retirees.

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(1)  Wis. Stat. § 62.23(1). Section 62.23 of the Statutes is applicable to villages by reference of Wis. Stat. § 61.65 and to towns exercising planning and zoning under village powers by reference of Wis. Stat.§ 60.62.
 (2)  Wis. Stat. § 62.23(1).
 (3)  For villages, the corresponding officer would be the village president. For towns, the corresponding officer would be the town board chairperson.
 (4)  Wis. Stat. § 62.23(1)(a).
(5)  Wis. Stat. § 62.23(1)(b).
 (6)  Wis. Stat. § 62.23(1)(c).
 (7)  Wis. Stat. § 60.62(4).

Wisconsin Statutes