Sharing a vision for Clayton County

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

Roughly 30 people from around the county—representing agriculture, industry, conservation, tourism and economic development, and more—shared their visions for the future of Clayton County at a public meeting in Elkader Dec. 8. The meeting was the second held in the last two months to gather resident input for creation of an updated county comprehensive plan. 

The county’s existing comprehensive plan was created in 2002, said Michelle Barness, a community planner with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission, which the county has engaged to update the plan. It was short, she noted, and not as detailed as those formed today. An update will be handy for a variety of reasons. 

“It’s a handy tool for the county to tell its residents their long-term goals and plans,” Barness explained. The plans described in it, “Can trickle down to zoning, capital improvement plans and other plans that dictate the day-to-day lives of residents. Organizations can use it to apply for grants. There are a lot of ways to use it.” 

Barness said the comprehensive plan will look out 10 to 20 years. It will be updated every five years to ensure the information it contains remains relevant. 

The plan’s creation is still in the early stages, Barness said. The first phase, which is going on now, includes community visioning. Information from this meeting, as well as a similar meeting in November and a September meeting with a steering committee of representatives from around the county, will be utilized. Through the community visioning process, she shared, residents are tasked with “coming up with a vision for all the individual elements of the plan.” 

Those elements include community culture, community facilities and services, housing, public infrastructure and utilities, transportation, natural and agricultural resources, land use, economic development and hazards. 

At the meeting last week, in order to share their ideas, participants engaged in element “speed dating.” Large sheets of paper were placed on tables throughout the room where the meeting was held, at the Clayton County Office Building. Each sheet featured two columns, one labeled “discover” and the other “dream.” People moved around the room to each sheet, writing down their thoughts in each column. 

For the discover column, participants were charged with listing what they thought was working in the county in regard to each element. 

“You shouldn’t just figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it,” Barness said. “Discover what you do like and what works. It’s a richer vision when you know what works.” 

In the dream column, people shared what they thought Clayton County should do next to make things even better. 

Some dreams that came up within several elements focused on a need for more active transportation in the county, including additional trails for both walking and biking.

Natural resources in general were popular, as participants cited a need for better connection to and appreciation of the county’s natural beauty, resources and history. Some hope to see promotion/expansion/development of outdoor recreation and natural resource use and education.

Other notable ideas included: 

•increased opportunities and locations for recycling

•better cell service and faster Internet

•more paved roads

•additional support for libraries and small businesses

•preservation of soil, water and air quality

•more quality and affordable rental units

If residents were unable to attend the visioning meetings, Barness said she plans to create a public survey that community members could fill out with their ideas. It will be available around February or March, though how it will be distributed has not yet been decided. 

Over the winter, Barness said she will work on the second phase of the comprehensive plan—the collection of background data. Next summer, and into the fall, several community think tanks will be held, gauging resident thoughts on specific actions that can be taken to move ahead with the ideas gathered. Clayton County’s comprehensive plan won’t be finalized for a year and a half, she estimated, until 2018. 

For additional meeting and project information, please go to www.uerpc.org/clayton-county-comp-plan.html.

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Here’s a breakdown of people’s dreams for the nine different elements that will comprise the comprehensive plan: 

Community Services and Facilities—

•improvements in visitor services, tourist hotels/motels and way finding signage 

•more support and utilization of libraries 

•mentoring opportunities for youth and beginning businesses 

•better financing of and increased enrollment at local schools 

•incentives for emergency service personnel 

•more trails to connect communities 

•increased opportunities and locations for recycling 

•better promotion of and financing of parks and recreational opportunities 

•reduction or eradication of the use of pesticides/herbicides in roadsides, in favor of plantings of native grasses/plants 

Community Culture—

•greater connection to the area’s natural resources and history 

•increased awareness and engagement in local issues 

•more promotion of local businesses 

•expansion of festivals (particularly that promote the county’s natural assets) 

•producing a majority of people’s food locally 

•county-specific plan that would maintain historic county property and have a savings plan for future needs 

•interpretive plan for cultures that settled in Clayton County, with an emphasis on local history 

Natural and Agricultural Resources— 

•promote/expand/develop outdoor recreation and natural resource use and education 

•set a limit on mining and the abuse of natural resources 

•promote practices that ensure soil health and keep agricultural land healthy 

•freedom to do as you wish with land you own 

Public Infrastructure and Utilities— 

•better cell service and faster Internet (high-speed telecommunications) 

•update infrastructure (sewers, utilities) 

•expand recycling and make it more accessible 

•protect water supply 

•expand energy efficient infrastructure and the Clayton County Energy District, providing jobs and renewable energy sources 

•more trails and natural areas 

•hard surface roads and replace gravel with a recyclable material or renewable source 

•natural gas pipeline 

Land Use— 

•balance land use of agriculture, industry and housing 

•protect agricultural land and keep erodible land out of intensive production 

•keep land (including bluff land) more natural and protect with just enough government regulation, while also improving education of the threats to natural resources 

•help residents feel a connection to the land, and become part of the land, rather than seeing it as a commodity 

•more opportunities for people to get back to the land on a small scale (small farms/operations versus a large entity) 

•sustainable natural resource recreation opportunities 

Hazards—  

•ensure safe air and improve water quality by having adequate resources available to monitor air and water quality 

•preserve top soil 

•use pipelines for hazardous materials instead of trucking 

•prevent flooding in major population areas and do not build in low lying areas where flooding is a threat 

•improve emergency management preparedness, including a way to notify people in rural areas of tornadoes and other severe weather 

Housing— 

•plan and develop programs and incentives to upgrade homes, especially those that are older 

•more quality and affordable rental units 

•construct high efficiency homes that are affordable and built with renewable resources 

•use existing rural acreage for young families 

•destroy older homes and use lots for duplexes or rentals 

Economic Development— 

•better transportation for agriculture and mining 

•encourage small farmers and diverse agriculture 

•transition away from resource depleting industry 

•allow businesses to develop resources that are here 

•do a better job of promoting communities and their uniqueness 

•more entrepreneurism 

•encourage/support local, small businesses in order to keep them in town 

•affordable family health insurance, housing and salaries 

Transportation—  

•better and safer roads (paved) and bridges 

•additional access to rail to limit truck traffic 

•strictly enforce weight limits on all county roads to keep them in good shape 

•improve river access both inland and to the Mississippi 

•enhance active transportation (create and accommodate bike traffic with trails and bike lanes, make better and longer trails to connect towns and have more hiking trails to increase access to “wild” space)