Linn County charts 'A Smarter Course' in rural land use plan update

Linn County's process of updating its Rural Land Use Plan, dubbed “A Smarter Course,” is entering into a new round of online public input gathering. In this latest round, Linn County residents are being asked to write short “guiding principles” on the topics of resource protection; sustainable development; livable communities; alternative and renewable energy; hazard mitigation; economic development and employment opportunities; and transportation.

Input will be accepted online through January 20. The plan update is being managed by the staff of the Linn County Planning & Development Department.

“Guiding principles are foundational concepts that will guide decisions about strategies and implementation actions in the updated Rural Land Use Plan” said Les Beck, Linn County's Planning and Development Director. “They will apply to many decisions, and so it is extremely important that the citizens of Linn County give us their opinions and ideas on these guiding principles.”

A steering committee of local residents representing various stakeholder groups has been formed and several working groups will develop plan elements. The Rural Land Use Plan update is expected to be complete in early 2013.

Linn County received a grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development to perform the Rural Land Use Plan update, which will bring its plan more fully into compliance with the recently adopted Iowa Smart Planning Principles. Les Beck, Planning and Development Director, co-chairs the Iowa Smart Planning Task Force.

The Iowa Smart Planning Principles were adopted during the 2010 legislative session and enacted into law on April 1, 2010. The 10 Iowa Smart Planning Principles are:

• Collaboration;
• Efficiency, Transparency, and Consistency;
• Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy;
• Occupational Diversity;
• Revitalization;
• Housing Diversity;
• Community Character;
• Natural Resources and Agricultural Protection;
• Sustainable Design; and
• Transportation Diversity.

Contact Les Beck at (319) 892-5130 or by email at

les.beck@linncounty.org for more information.