(Spirit Lake)– Dickinson county supervisors and Planning and Zoning members were updated Wednesday evening on the status of the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which is undergoing a revision. Work on the update has been going on for more than a year now. The county has contracted with the Northwest Iowa Planning and Development Commission to complete the revision. Steve Halgren, a representative of the agency, was on hand for Wednesday’s meeting.
Asked about efforts to work together with the cities to come up with guidelines that would be consistent with theirs, Halgren stated that a meeting had been held involving the county and representatives from various cities. But he said the opinions varied widely and he has no idea what it would take to get everyone on the same page. He used keyholing and the wide range of philosophies on that issue as an example.
A draft of the Comp Plan was reviewed Wednesday, with several chapters yet to be included. Among them is one dealing with environmental issues. Supervisor Paul Johnson questioned if that shouldn’t have been one of the FIRST things to have been included, saying that’s what should drive the Comp Plan.
Halgren laid out his timetable for finalizing the Comp Plan. He hopes to have the final draft ready in August with approval by the P & Z in September. After that, the plan would go to the board of supervisors for their consideration in October.
