1999 Upper Midwest Conference to be in Madison

By Sam Tobias

The 1999 Upper Midwest Conference is hosted each year by one of the four states composing the Upper Midwest regional organization of the APA. In 1999, the Wisconsin Chapter will host the conference at the Monona Terrace Conference Center in Madison, Wisconsin, October 21 and 22. Conference organizers have completed a preliminary outline of conference tracks and topics. Organizers encourage comments and suggestions for additional topics and possible speakers. WAPA will begin to lock in topics and speakers by April 1999. Contact Sam Tobias by email at stobias@co.fond-du-lac.wi.us or by phone at 920-929-3135.

Plenary Session
Statewide issues, including COMM 83 and the Wisconsin Land Use Task Force. Comparisons and contrasts with Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota

Rural Track
County Planning and follow-up from 1998 WAPA Conference
Farmland Administration Administrative Rules and Tools
Planning and Zoning for corporate farming
Small community planning, planning for villages and towns
Rural locally owned unwanted land uses; prisons, bypasses and quarries
Groundwater depletion/contamination and land use issues

Recreation Track
Cost-benefit analysis of open space acquisition and preservation
Bikeway design, construction and funding; stewardship and NEXTEA
Golf course communities and gated communities
National Park standards and changing demographics

Urban Track
Brownfield update, a status report on state programs from the four states
Housing needs for employees of major new employers
Affordable housing alternatives
Planning and zoning and the mortgage market, location efficient mortgages
Impacts of passenger and freight rail service expansion
Madison Arts District
Traffic calming and skinny streets
Landscape standards and appearance codes

Planning Tools Track
Rebuilding FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps using digital elevation models
Census 2000
Redistricting 2000
SCS digital soil mapping and land use planning applications
Fiscal impact of land use and construction regulations on housing costs
Land use law update
FEMA rules and regulations, dealing with interpretations and amendments
Update on wireless communications tower regulations
The Internet Thing, examples of applications and uses