(Spirit Lake)– Concern over urban sprawl in Dickinson county is increasing.
John Walters of the Dickinson County Conservation Board Monday requested the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission amend the zoning ordinance to make it more difficult or even impossible to build a house or subdivision near preserves and hunting areas. Iowa code requires no hunting within 200 yards of a residence. Walters says as more people build homes close to preserves, it limits the amount of land in those areas that can be hunted.
Walters says his board manages a couple of hunting areas in the county, and the Iowa D-N-R has several others. He says one such preserve managed by the county southwest of Milford has already been negatively impacted by development.
Walters says the problem isn’t germain to Dickinson county. He says a few other counties in other parts of the state are looking at similar ordinances.
Commission members took no action on Walter’s request Monday. They want to get an opinion from the County Attorney on the legality of such an ordinance.
