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Table 113
PROTECTION OF PRIME AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE REGION BY COUNTY: 1985

Prime Agricultural Land
Protected              Not Protected
through Zoning          through Zoning               Total
Percent                 Percent                  Percent
County           Acres       of Total     Acres      of Total     Acres      of Total
Kenosha . . . . . .   27,800       36.3       48,700        63.7       76,500      100.0
Milwaukee . . . .       700        50.0          700       50.0         1,400      100.0
Ozaukee . . . . . .   60,400       82.4       12,900        17.6       73,300      100.0
Racine . . . . . . .  19,700       20.0       78,900        80.0       98,600      100.0
Walworth . . . . .   208,900      100.0            0         0.0      208,900      100.0
Washington . . . .    32,800       30.3       75,500        69.7      108,300      100.0
Waukesha . . . . .    24,300       23.6       78,800        76.4      103,100      100.0
Region             374,600        55.9      295,500       44.1      670,100      100.0

Source: SEWRPC.

tural use in the Region, reflecting, among other
factors, the placement of agricultural lands in
urban zoning districts in anticipation of future
development and, in some cases, the existence of
unzoned agricultural areas. The difference
between existing and zoned agricultural land in
1985 also reflects the extensive agricultural
areas that have been placed in floodland zoning
districts, which are represented as conservancy
districts under the community zoning inventory.
The regional land use plan as adopted in 1966
recommended that areas of the Region proposed
for continued agricultural use, and particularly
those identified as prime agricultural lands, be
place in an exclusive agricultural use district.
Exclusive agricultural zoning districts establish
a relatively large minimum parcel size and
restrict use of the land primarily to agricultural
use. In 1966 the Town of Belgium in Ozaukee
County became the first zoning jurisdiction in
the Region to apply exclusive agricultural
zoning in a substantial way. While it took a
number of years to gain public acceptance,
exclusive agricultural zoning is now in effect in
many areas of the Region. It should be noted
that planning for the preservation of farmland
and the application of exclusive agricultural
zoning received considerable impetus in 1977
with the establishment of the Wisconsin Farm-
land Preservation Program, a program that
combines planning and zoning provisions with

tax incentives to promote the preservation of
farmland. The minimum parcel size for exclusive
agricultural zoning of 35 acres established under
that program has become the generally accepted
criterion for exclusive agricultural zoning.
By 1985, exclusive agriculture zoning establish-
ing a minimum parcel size of 35 acres served to
protect from inappropriate urban development
about 374,600 acres, or 56 percent of the 670,100
acres of all prime agricultural land in the Region
(see Table 113). Prime agricultural lands which
have been protected through exclusive agricul-
tural zoning are shown on Map 6 in Chapter III
of this report. As shown on Map 6, the largest
concentrations of prime agricultural lands that
have been protected through exclusive agricul-
tural zoning occur in Walworth County, western
Racine and Kenosha Counties, and Ozaukee
County.
One of the problems with regard to agricultural
zoning identified under the 1964 and 1972 zoning
inventories was the widespread use of agricul-
tural districts which, while permitting agricul-
tural and open space uses, also permit
residential development on lots less than five
acres in size. Residential development on lots
smaller than five acres in rural areas is gener-
ally inconsistent with, and may be disruptive to,
agricultural use in such areas and contributes to
an urban sprawl pattern of development. Despite

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