Village of Greenville, WI Chapter 99 Citizen Participation

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenville (now Village Board of the Village of Greenville) 10-26-2020 by Ord. No. 09-20.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 99, Citizen Participation, adopted 8-13-2001 by Ord. No. 36, as amended.

§ 99-1 Purpose.

A. Applications requiring a public hearing as required in Chapter 320, Zoning (zoning text amendments shall be exempt), shall include a citizen participation plan that must be implemented prior to the first public hearing. The purpose of the citizen participation plan is to:

(1) Ensure that applicants pursue early and effective citizen participation in conjunction with their applications, giving them the opportunity to understand and attempt to mitigate any real or perceived impacts their application may have on the community;

(2) Ensure the citizens and property owners of Greenville have an adequate opportunity to learn about applications that may affect them and to work with applicants to resolve concerns at an early stage of the process;

(3) Facilitate ongoing communication between the applicant, interested citizens and property owners, staff, and elected officials throughout the application review process.

B. The citizen participation plan is not intended to produce complete consensus on all applications, but to encourage applicants to be good neighbors and to allow for informed decisionmaking.

§ 99-2 Information required by applicant.

A. At a minimum, the citizen participation plan shall include the following information:

(1) A letter introducing the proposed project to affected residents (within 500 feet) and describing the impact it may/will have on: the surrounding properties, Greenville itself, or adjacent communities. Include all things such as stormwater management, utilities, roads/traffic, fire/police protection, air/noise pollution, natural resource/land preservation, or curb appeal as applicable.

(2) Details of the proposed development, including maps, site plans, and a contact name, address and phone number where affected residents can call with questions.

(3) If a meeting is required, a meeting agenda that lists a time and place for an informational meeting for affected residents, at least seven days before the scheduled public hearing, to give an applicant adequate time to respond so that a citizen participation report can be filed by the applicant at least five days before the public hearing. In order to provide the greatest opportunity for interested parties, this meeting should be held on a Monday through Thursday evening after 6:00 p.m.

B. All requirements for a citizen participation plan remain the same as listed above except the information meeting must be held seven days before and the citizen participation report filed five days before the meeting of the Planning Commission.

C. Greenville shall be required to:

(1) Provide mailing of all notifications required by ordinance, for both Greenville and the developer.

(2) Provide Greenville facilities, if necessary, to facilitate informational meetings required.

(3) Properly notice all informational meetings, as a quorum of Board members may be present.

(4) Provide a mailing list to the applicant for their use in extra communication with the public regarding their development.

(5) Assist with the scheduling of the informational meetings in coordination with the public hearing.

§ 99-3 Phasing.

The applicant may submit a citizen participation plan and begin implementation prior to formal application at their discretion. This shall not occur, however, until after a preapplication meeting and consultation with staff or, if required, the Planning Commission.

§ 99-4 Citizen participation report.

This section applies only when a citizen participation plan is required by this chapter.

A. The applicant shall provide a written report on the results of the citizen participation effort prior to the time staff sends out an informational packet to the Planning Commission so the report can be included in the packet (at least five days before public hearing).

B. At a minimum, the citizen participation report shall include the following information:

(1) Details of techniques the applicant used to involve the public, including:

(a) Dates and locations of all meetings where citizens were invited to discuss the applicant's proposal.

(b) Content, dates mailed, and numbers of mailings, including letters, meeting notices, newsletters and other publications.

(c) The number of people that participated in the informational meeting process.

(d) A summary of concerns, issues and problems expressed during the process, including:

[1] The substance of the concerns, issues and problems;

[2] How the applicant has addressed or intends to address concerns, issues and problems during the process; and

[3] Concerns, issues and problems the applicant is unwilling or unable to address and why.

(2) Failure of the applicant to provide a citizen participation report that fulfills the requirements of this chapter shall be grounds for the reviewing body to table discussion and action of the application.