WI 2 COMMUNITY CONSULTING, LLC.

Following is the text to Dave's Presentation to Conference Participants and Chinese Mayors at the 2014 (ICMA) International Regional Summit held in Yangzhou and some pictures of his travels in China:

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Thank-you. My name is Dave Tebo, Town Administrator from Greenville, Wisconsin. Notice the word Green in the name which helps define our community and it is used in our public slogans like "Keep the Green in Greenville" and "Green it Like You Mean It".

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Yesterday we had some very BIG discussions about a Chinese urbanization process that features the largest human migration in history and the tremendous challenges facing your country. I was very impressed by the passion, competence and desire expressed to solve these growth-related problems and these will serve you well as you seek to find innovative solutions. I was also very grateful to listen and try to get a glimpse or taste of the reality of your local government situation.

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So, with all this BIGNESS, what experience can someone share from a small community of 11,000 people, sitting in a metro area of just over 300,000, that might bring some value to our discussion?

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I think the fact that ICMA is hosting this event gives the clear answer. As the ICMA speakers emphasized yesterday, local government is where the action is in the American system of governance. It is, in fact, not the larger federal and state governments that "hold and bind together" the U.S. democracy but smaller communities and metro areas, like bricks in a wall.

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Many years ago I visited the Great Wall of China which was very impressive and also BIG, but it was built one brick at a time. I think this is a good model for local government transformation in China. Each small and large community needs to be a strong brick to hold up a strong and effective wall of government.

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So, everyday, in my rapidly urbanizing community and many others in the U.S., what are the practical pillars of success we can observe that help allow for eco-friendly and sustainable development? I will briefly list four:

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1. A Good Planning Process: Growth and development, eco-friendly or not, means change in a community. In many cities change can be a very bad word. We have a saying in the U.S. (not in my backyard or NIMBY), because many people feel this way about any new development. All communities, in my home state of Wisconsin, must prepare a 20-year Comprehensive Plan together with citizens and based on citizen input. It creates a vision and direction based on community resources and capacity. Once this Plan is approved, it is difficult to amend as elected and appointed officials change. It helps give consistency to decision-making;

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2. Good Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances-  Based on the vision and recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan, consistent ordinances establish zoning districts and rules for development in each district. These are like lines in the sand of your community clarifying specific types of development allowed, building setback and heights, stream setbacks, rules on stormwater and erosion control, even guidelines for development around an airport;

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3. A Good Site Review Process-  We have a very thoughtful and strong citizen group in Greenville called the Planning Commission. They review all major site plans to ensure that development is following established guidelines; and,

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4. The Need to Work Closely with Citizen Interest Groups-  Without this final element, certainly rapid sustainable growth and development would not be possible in a U.S. community. In Greenville, we doubled in population size in a fifteen-year period and I contend it was the Town's effort, led by our Chairman, to work closely with various citizen interest groups that allowed us to grow without too much political distress. Some examples of the more creative ways we worked with citizens include:

     A. GreenPrint Planning- In 2004, about 40 citizens joined together in this process to help define the environmental, cultural and historical resources important to protect in our Town. The group divided up into pairs and each pair studied and reviewed 2 sq. miles of our 36 sq. mile community. While this is only an advisory document our Planning Commission regularly uses it in their development review process;

     B. Supporting a Land Stewardship Committee- Roughly one-half, or 18 sq. miles, of our Township is farmland or wetland areas. This land is like the historical heart of our past agricultural community. In 2011, the Town worked with a group of agricultural landowners and interested citizens to develop a Land Stewardship Strategy Document, which led to a proposal to create a Greenbelt on the western edge of our community. This policy originated with citizens and not with the government;

     C. From a Town-organized Book Study Circle a volunteer citizen group called Sustain Greenville was formed. This group began sustainability programs together with the Town like, building and selling rain barrels to residents, planning and construction of rain gardens, and establishing a community garden and farmers market.

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So in closing, the four key factors we have found in Greenville, as well as many other U.S. Communities, allowing us to grow rapidly yet sustainably in an eco-friendly manner, include: 1. A good planning process; 2. Good zoning and subdivision ordinances; 3. A good site review process for new development; and, 4. Working closely with citizen interest groups.

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Thank-you for your attention and I have brought a copy of our 20-year Comprehensive Plan, a copy of our GreenPrint Plan and a copy of our Land Stewardship Strategy that I will leave here for you to review if you are interested.

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