PHOTO BY BERLEEN WOBETER - A group of citizens gathered in the Board of Supervisors room on Tuesday, Jan. 20 for an inaugural meeting to discuss the process of creating a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) for Tama County.

A diverse group of skilled and willing citizens responded to Tama Co. Zoning Administrator Laura Wilson’s invitation to meet Tuesday evening Jan. 20 in the Board of Supervisors room and begin the process of developing a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP). Attendees with expertise in education, conservation, real estate, agriculture and other interests gathered in anticipation of what could be accomplished with unified planning for the future of the county.

The impetus for this meeting dates back to 2010 Iowa legislation. The Iowa Smart Planning Act was passed under Governor Chet Culver. This act mandated counties consider the principles of Smart Planning but did not go on to actually mandate counties use these principles to complete a CLUP. The law resulted in a patchwork of counties in Iowa completing the work as outlined in ‘Iowa Smart Planning”. The process was often costly when counties hired professionals to complete the multi-step process.

This law helped up-date Iowa law and brought it in line with laws passed by other states as soon as the 1920’s. In those earlier state laws, legislators gave clear guidance on the elements to be included in comprehensive plans. Clear guidance helped keep zoning disputes out of the courtroom. Zoning decisions consistent with a locales comprehensive plan are given the presumption of validity. In Iowa, courts are often necessary to decide zoning and development disputes when official plans are incomplete or unclear.

The 2010 law, however, lacked a clear mandate and counties needed an enticement to complete the work of a CLUP. This was done by allowing counties with a completed plan to apply for a piece of a $30 million dollar pie. The funds were part of I-JOBS bonding funds and counties could get grants to complete public construction projects for disaster prevention. Advance planning to mitigate damage from future natural disasters was an emerging concern at the time.

Today, those funds are long gone and the question remains as to whether a CLUP is necessary to prevent litigation over zoning ordinances. In addition, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, Mark Doland and Iowa House Representative, Dean Fisher believe the 2010 law will be overturned this legislative session on the grounds that it is an unfunded mandate. Because of this possibility, funds that had been designated by the county to complete the work with the assistance from Region 6 were pulled back.

At this uncertain moment, Supervisor Heather Knebel and Wilson are moving forward believing planning for the county’s future using the 13 principles of Smart Planning will be a positive step for the county, while also possibly preventing future legal issues. They are relying on the volunteer talent and energy of local citizens to complete the work. Some of the stated motivations of those in attendance were to protect and preserve soil and farmland, increase conservation practices and recreational opportunities, real estate interests, quality of life issues and improving opportunities for communities and education.

The evening meeting was a time of introductions and taking the first steps towards developing a public survey to be distributed on-line and in hard copy to county residents. Public participation and input is a vital step in this planning process. This will be a multi-month process and next steps are still in the planning stage.