Comprehensive Plan

Village of McFarland Comprehensive Plan

Village of McFarland Comprehensive Plan - Adopted March 27, 2006) (Chapters 1-9 and maps)

Figure 4 - Planned Neighborhoods

Figure 8 - Mixed use Centers

Comprehensive Plan Maps

Map 1 - Jurisdictional Boundaries

Map 3 - Environmentally Sensitive Areas, Public Lands, & Archaeological Areas

Map 4 - Existing Land Use 2003

Map 5 - Growth Factors Analysis

Map 6 - Planned Land Use

Map 7 - Existing Transportation Facilities

Map 8 - Transportation & Community Facilities Plan

PLAN SUMMARY

A. The Reason for Planning

The Village of McFarland has evolved over the past three decades from a freestanding resort town and farm market center into a suburban community within an expanding Dane County urban area. During the 1990s, the Village experienced profound residential growth and faced difficult decisions related to community expansion. The Village's 1994 plan took an important step in managing and staging this growth in and around McFarland and guided development into areas adequately served by transportation, utilities, and community facilities and services. Now, the Village seeks a new plan to continue these efforts in a manner that distinguishes McFarland from other communities in the region and helps the Village grow smart, efficiently, and in a way that retains its "small town" character that has attracted residents to this corner of Lake Waubesa for 150 years.

B. Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan

This Comprehensive Plan is a guide for the development, revitalization, and preservation of the McFarland area over the next 20 years. It is a reflection of public and intergovernmental input, local policy desires, and Wisconsin Statutes. The Plan is comprised of nine elements, with the focal point being the Land Use chapter, which includes a map showing preferred areas for residential, commercial, and industrial development and redevelopment, as well as areas recommended for long-range open space and agricultural uses. The Plan was shaped by an extensive public participation process, which included monthly Ad Hoc committee meetings, a visioning workshop, focus groups, an alternative growth scenarios forum, an open house, and public hearings. As a result of this process, the Plan's recommendations are generally consistent with other local and regional plans, long-standing state and regional policies, sound planning practices, and resident and landowner wishes.

C. Key Plan Recommendations

This is a Plan for a community that is forecasted to grow from 6,500 residents today to nearly 10,000 residents by 2025. It is intended to guide this future population and related job growth in a manner that enhances McFarland's sense of place and works in concert with adjacent jurisdictions, Dane County, and the State. The Plan is formed around a vision of a community expanding east into well-planned neighborhoods thoughtfully linked and integrated by streets, sidewalks, bike routes, parks and open space corridors. A community with a downtown that is revitalized and re-shaped with civic, commercial and office development. A community that is aggressively approaching economic development opportunities through infill projects, re-development projects and new projects that reflect McFarland's "small town" character. A community that is maintaining its reputation for quality schools, state-of-the art community facilites, and safe neighborhoods. To achieve this vision of McFarland, this Plan advocates the directions summarized on the next page.

D. Promote Infill Development within the Village

This Plan recommends that the Village take an aggressive approach to redeveloping vacant or underutilized lands, particularly for economic development purposes. Recommendations include:

Transforming land uses along south Terminal Drive through high quality redevelopment projects to maximize the Village's non-residential tax base and enhance community appearance.

Requiring quality design and appearance of development along Highway 51, which serves as the "front door" of the community.

Promoting downtown revitalization and redevelopment of parcels along Farwell Street. This development should include a mixture of residential, commercial, office and institutional uses.

Siting one or two commutter rail stations as a catalyst for redeveloping surrounding land uses.

E. Direct Future Village Growth to the East

This Plan recommends that the Village's future "edge" growth area occur east of the Village's current limits, within the man-made and natural boundaries of Siggelkow Road, Mud Lake, Door Creek, Yahara River, and the Interstate. Within this growth area, the Plan recommends:

Accommodating projected population growth in well-planned residential neighborhhods with a mixture of housing types, interconnected streets and sidewalks, parks, bike routes, and open space corridors.

Designating areas for new commercial and office development along Siggelkow Road to capture the residential market emerging on the east side of McFarland and Madison's Marsh Road Neighborhood.

Planning for high-quality employment-based land uses along Interstate 39 between Siggelkow Road and Highway AB for companies that desire freeway visibility and reasonably good access.

F. Implement the Plan in Cooperation with Others

The Village will have to work on further efforts and with other governments to fully achieve its future objectives. Recommendations include:

Working with surrounding Towns intergovernmental boundary and land use agreements. The agreements emphasize the future of the East Side Growth Area and lands south of the Yahara River near Highway 51, which the Plan does not recommend for development over the 20 year planning period.

Reviewing and considering amendments and time extensions to the agreement with the City of Madison.

Working with the adjacent Towns, Dane County, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to prepare a conservation plann for southern portion of th Village's planning area.

Working with the adjacent Towns, Dane County, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation on Highway 51 improvements.

This is the vision. With this new Comprehensive Plan, the Village is positioning itself at the forefront of best development practices and concepts. By insisting upon top-quality projects and effectively managing growth, the Village will capture the benefits of dynamic regional growth, while preserving and enhancing its historic and "small town" character.

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