Walworth County's Voluntary Conservation Development Design Ordinance

Walworth County adopted a voluntary Conservation Development Design ordinance in 2004, which can be used for all residential developments with five or more dwellings in A-2, C-2, C-3, R-1, R-2, R-2A, and R-3 zoned districts. The ordinance allows smaller lot sizes so that home sites can be clustered, with the remaining land set aside as common open space for residents.

The intent is to conserve unique and sensitive natural features such as woodlands, steep slopes, streams, floodlands, and wetlands, by protecting them from development and encouraging the protection of the elements that are part of Walworth County’s beauty and rural character. The ordinance provides greater design flexibility and efficiency in the siting of services and infrastructure, including the opportunity to reduce road lengths, utility runs, and the amount of paving for residential developments.

The ordinance also provides landowners with many options to minimize impacts on the site’s natural and cultural features such as woodlands, critical wildlife habitat, historic buildings, and fieldstone walls, and it encourages trails for passive recreational use for homeowner enjoyment.

The ordinance requires that the conserved lands be permanently restricted from further development through the use of deed restrictions, the donation of a conservation easement to a public agency or nonprofit conservation organization, or through another agreement acceptable to Walworth County.

The conserved land may be held in common ownership through the homeowners association or condominium agreements, or be dedicated, fee simple, to a public agency or nonprofit conservation organization. The conserved land may also be owned by a private landowner. Conserved lands that are dedicated to a public agency or owned by a private landowner must have a conservation easement in place.

Management and stewardship plans are required for the conserved land to assure proper long-term maintenance and care of the land.

The voluntary Walworth County Conservation Development Design ordinance prioritizes the natural resources to be conserved:

Primary Conservation Areas

Secondary Conservation Areas

1. Stream channels, floodlands, wetlands, wet soils, swales,springs,vernal pools, and lowlands environmental corridors
2. Significant natural areas, critical species habitat sites, and other sites containing species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern, including those identified in SEWRPC Regional and Walworth County plans.
3. All steep slopes of 20% or greater; slopes of 12% or greater adjacent to streams and water bodies, where disturbance could be detrimental to water quality; slopes of 12% or greater and wooded (classified as environmental corridors or isolated natural resource areas); and archaeological and burial sites.

1. Healthy woodlands, particularly those performing important ecological functions such as soil stabilization and protection of streams, wetlands, and wildlife habitat.
2. Primary environmental corridors.
3. Areas where topographic and soil conditions are likely to foster groundwater recharge areas.
4. Existing trail systems.
5. Hedgrows, groups of trees, botanically significant trees, and other vegetation features representing the site’s rural past.
6. Historic buildings and other structures older than 100 years.
7. Visually prominent topographic features such as knolls, kames, eskers, drumlins, hilltops, and ridges, and scenic viewsheds.
8. Class I, II, III agricultural soils.