Village staff of DeForest and Windsor are currently in the process of developing a joint housing survey designed for residents to share their opinions on various topics related to housing in their communities.
Some focus areas of the survey include deciding factors when choosing a place to live, housing stock diversity, preferred future housing development and cost of living.
At a special Windsor Plan Commission meeting on Monday, Feb. 26, village staff heard input on a survey draft from community and commission members. The conversation primarily centered around streamlining some questions and more clearly defining the focus of others.
Windsor Community Development Director Jamie Rybarcyzk said he would bring the suggestions back to a team of survey experts at UW-Extension that both municipalities have been working with on the project.
The prevailing hope is to distribute the survey sometime in the first half of March via village communication methods online and in-person.
The team will then tabulate the results sometime later that month or at the beginning of April. The results will then be shared with each respective community during the latter half of April.
Rybarcyzk explained during the Feb. 26 meeting that the survey will play a pivotal role in developing Windsor's 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which has been in the works since April 2023. Community input will help discern which kinds of development the village will prioritize and allow to take place in the future.
Windsor will also be reaching out to local stakeholders on the topic in coming weeks. Village residents also shared input as to who they think should be contacted. Local farmers, business owners, developers, appointed and elected officials, the school district and Dane County were all groups that were pinpointed.
While the same survey will go out to both villages, there will be one to two DeForest- and Windsor-centric questions depending on where respondents live. This will give each municipality an opportunity to gauge opinions on topics specific to themselves.
DeForest's comprehensive plan was updated in 2023. Village staff conducted similar community surveys leading up to the completion of the plan at the time.
Village Administrator Bill Chang said that the upcoming joint survey won't affect the already adopted plan, but it's apart of a continued effort to cultivate a housing mix in line with public opinion.
The updated comprehensive plan spells out the importance of facilitating public engagement on the topic: "DeForest will support opportunities for residents and workers to have decent, safe, affordable housing in attractive neighborhoods. The Village’s housing mix should continue to include single-family housing as a staple, while allowing different choices to meet current lifestyles and market demand."
Residents of both communities should keep an eye out for village communications on how to take the survey in the near future.
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