Program and Activity Summary

Economic Development:

The West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (WCWRPC), as an EDA Economic Development District, prepares and maintains a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the Region. It provides technical assistance to local governments regarding industrial park development and improvement, business finance, economic research and plan development, and coordinates areawide development. It administers a regional revolving loan fund for business finance. WCWRPC also manages numerous local and county revolving loan funds. The Commission maintains valuable partnerships and cooperates with local economic development corporations, the regional workforce development board and the regional economic development marketing organization.

Community Development:
WCWRPC provides community development assistance to local communities, including activities such as economic analyses, industrial site evaluations, tax increment finance district plans, special industry studies, grant writing and administration, costs of community service studies, and business financial packaging. The Commission is also active at the county and community levels in such activities as zoning ordinance revision, outdoor recreation plan development, and downtown revitalization. It provides housing grant writing and administration to counties and local governments.

Land Use and Environmental Resources:
WCWRPC provides land use and environmental planning service to cities, villages, towns, and counties. It prepares groundwater management plans, urban sewer service area plans, and computerized land use maps for watershed plans. It also coordinates with various stakeholders to address revevant environmental issues affecting the region. The Commission provides assistance to local governments and counties on comprehensive planning, including plan development and implementation.

Transportation:
In the area of transportation planning, the WCWRPC has undertaken activities including road management planning, highway bypass impact analysis, highway relocation assistance, highway jurisdictional planning, rail line planning, airport review, and bicycle and pedestrian planning and safe routes to school plans. In addition, the Commission serves as the administrative entity for the Chippewa-Eau Claire Metropolitan Planning Organization. This responsibility involves a range of planning, traffic analysis, land use studies, and technical assistance.

Information and Data Systems:
WCWRPC serves as a State Data Center affiliate. In this capacity, it disseminates a wide range of economic, housing, land use, transportation, and general demographic data. The Commission prepares socioeconomic reports and profiles for the member counties and the Region. The Commission also houses digital geographic (mapping) data for the region.

GIS, Visualization and Urban Design:
WCWRPC provides Geographic Information Systems services to its local governments and performs landscape and development visualizations. The Commission can also assist communities with urban design projects.

Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness:
The Commission provides services for preparedness planning, including hazard mitigation, communications interoperability, and wildfire protection.

Energy and Sustainability:
WCWRPC can perform sustainable community planning, energy audits, bio-energy studies, Natural Step programming, and LEED certification.