Johnson County seeks public input on 10-year comprehensive plan

IOWA CITY - Johnson County officials hope to develop a comprehensive plan to guide decision making over the next 10 years, and it wants input from residents in doing so.

Five open houses are scheduled over the next month to allow the public to give feedback on what they'd like to be included in the plan. The first open house is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Lone Tree Community Center, 203½ N. Devoe St.

Other open houses are scheduled in Oxford, Solon, Kalona and Iowa City.

Josh Busard, the county's director of the Planning, Development and Sustainability Department, said the comprehensive plan - dubbed JoCo 2.0-Sustaining Success Through 2028 - is to include aspects like housing, economic development and sustainability.

The plan is to replace a land use plan for unincorporated areas within the county. Busard said the county first adopted land use plans in the 1990s. The last plan was completed in 2008. Now, land use is simply going to be one of the multiple chapters in the new plan.

'Since then, we've, as well as other cities, started to think more holistically,” Busard said. 'It's thinking on a more comprehensive level that development really does touch everybody, everyday, in all facets of our life.”

JEO Consulting Group, based in Omaha, is aiding the county in collecting feedback and developing the plan. The board of supervisors approved the $69,500 contract in October, according to the board's agenda documents.

The consultant and county staff are hoping to get all levels of input from residents. Busard said it can be as specific as improvement to a particular road or as general as more economic development to create jobs.

The comprehensive plan process is meant to be a transparent one, Busard said. County staff hope to post information, collect survey results and publish draft chapters as they become available on the plan's website, jocoplan.com.

Busard said the project already is almost a year in the making, with the process beginning last spring when 21 steering committee members and the consulting firm were selected. Busard added the committee members represent different niches, such as farming, real estate and local foods.

'We worked really hard to get a cross section of Johnson County as a whole,” Busard said. 'I feel the board of supervisors really did their due diligence in selecting this group.”

While there is no specific overall timeline set, the documents laid out a September 2017 completion goal.

Busard said residents are welcome to any of the open houses, not just the one nearest their homes.

Once JEO is finished collecting the feedback about what should be included in the comprehensive plan from the community, Busard said the company plans to present the information to the committee, which is meant to assist in plan development and review drafts.

l Comments: (319) 339-3172; maddy.arnold@thegazette.com

Open House Schedule

Here is a list of upcoming open houses to discuss the Johnson County Comprehensive Plan:

' Tuesday, Feb. 7 - 6 to 8 p.m., Lone Tree Community Center, 203½ N. Devoe St.

' Thursday, Feb. 16 - 6 to 8 p.m., Kent Park Education Center, 2048 Highway 6 NW, Oxford.

' Wednesday, Feb. 22 - 6 to 8 p.m., Media Room at Solon High School, 600 W. Fifth St.

' Tuesday, Feb. 28 - 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., String Town Produce Barn, 2250 540th St. SW, Kalona. The building is located just north of String Town Grocery.

' Monday, March 6 - 6 to 8 p.m., Meeting Room A at Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St.

Comprehensive Plan Committee

Here are the members of the Johnson County Comprehensive Plan Committee:

Jerry Anthony, Thomas Anthony, Barbara Beaumont, Lindsey Boerjan, Kathryn Dorsey, Eldon Fouchek, Kevin Hochstedler, Jennifer Jordan, Michelle Kenyon, Aaron Klosterman, Brad Kunkel, Lucie Laurian, William Nusser, Paul Rasch, Tim Ruth, Sandra Steil, Dawn Terrell, Miriam Timmer-Hackert, William Waldie, Jill Wenger, Kristin Wildensee