Comprehensive Plan Update
Planning Services Department
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
Phone (319) 5894210
Fax (319) 589-4221
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November 1, 2000
The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
City of Dubuque
50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Re: Progress Report on the 2000 Update of the Comprehensive Plan and the
Joint City/County Planning Process for Fringe Area Growth and Development
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
The Long Range Planning Advisory Commission would like to provide the City Council
with a progress report on the 2000 update of the Comprehensive Plan and the joint
City/County planning process for fringe area growth and development.
Since January, the Commission has been working with City staff, community
stakeholders and the general public on the 2000 Update of the Comprehensive Plan.
The update includes three components:
~ Community Indicators for Success project
~ Mapping Our Land: 2020 Future Land Use Map
~ Our Community's Goals Revisited: Evaluation of the Goals and Objectives of the
1995 Comprehensive Plan
Below is the progress report on the 2000 update of the Comprehensive Plan.
Community Indicators for Success Project
The Community Indicators for Success project is the City's first attempt to track long-
term quality of life changes in our community. Community Indicators are measures of
trends in the community that are related to community livability and realization of goals
and objectives. For example, Community Indicators for a community's economic vitality
could include the local unemployment rate, net job growth and annual tourism
revenues. Dubuque's community indicators will be loosely arranged by the 14 elements
of the Comprehensive Plan.
The Commission sponsored a stakeholders meeting on July 12, 2000. Over 80
stakeholders met to review draft indicators, discuss how they can be measured and
"vote" for the indicators they feel would best reflect the quality of life in Dubuque. The
general public also has had the opportunity to review and comment on the community
indicators through a self-guided display at the Public Library.
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Comprehensive Plan Update
Page 2
The Commission will complete its review of the selected indicators from the stakeholder
meeting in November. The Commission will provide the City Council with a set of
recommended community indicators for approval later this month.
Mapping Our La.nd: 2020 Future Land Use MaD
The second component of the 2000 update of the Comprehensive Plan is entitled
Mapping Our Land. The Commission and City staff created a series of maps for public
review and comment, including:
.. future land use map showing development alternatives,
.. transportation map showing proposed extensions and links for the community's
street, highway and bike/hike routes, and;
.. utility map showing the proposed extensions and improvements to the city's
water, sanitary sewer and storm water management systems.
The Commission sponsored land Use Policy Forums with the Developers' Roundtable
on June 29,2000 and July 19, 2000. On August 16, 2000, the Commission sponsored
a joint input session for developers and Chamber of Commerce members, held an input
session with members of the City Management Team, Boards and Commissions, and
then hosted an open house for the general public to review the maps.
The purpose of these meetings was to receive input regarding potential growth areas
and future land use in and around the City of Dubuque. The general public also has
had the opportunity to review and comment on the future land use map through a self-
guided display at the Public Library.
The Commission plans to recommend a 2020 Future land Use Map to the City Council
later this month. The 2020 Future land Use Map will serve as an interim map, until
data from the 2000 Census are available for a more extensive update. The 2020
Future land Use Map will provide a guide for rezoning and subdivision decisions within
the current city limits. The Commission will use the joint City/County planning process
to propose future land uses for fringe area growth and development next year.
On November 18, 2000, the Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed
2020 Future land Use Map at 7:00 p.m. in the Library Auditorium. All members of the
public are encouraged to attend.
Our Community's Goals Revisited: Evaluation of the Goals and Objectives of the
1995 ComDrehensive Plan
The third component of the 2000 Update to the 1995 Comprehensive Plan is Our
Community's Goals Revisited. This component involves the evaluation of the Plan's
goals and objectives adopted in 1995.
Comprehensive Plan Update
Page 3
A stakeholders meeting was held on September 13, 2000, at which participants
reviewed data collected on community indicators along with the adopted
Comprehensive Plan, in order to propose updated goals and objectives. The general
public also has had the opportunity to review and comment on the goals and objectives
through a self-guided display at the Public Library.
Commissioners are using this input for an in-depth study of the goals and objectives for
the Plan's 14 elements; four elements have been reviewed to date. Following this
study, the Commission will present a recommended set of goals and objectives to the
City Council in the Spring of 2001.
Joint City/County plannina process for frinae area growth and development
In addition to the 2000 update of the Comprehensive Plan, the Commission has two
committees working on related projects: a joint City/County planning process for fringe
area growth and development, and a downtown comprehensive planning process. A
progress report on the joint planning effort follows. A recommendation for the
downtown comprehensive planning process is presented under separate cover.
With support from the City Council, Dubuque County Board of Supervisors and East
Central Intergovernmental Agency, the Commission has formed a joint City/County
Planning Committee. The Committee includes Commission members, the County
Zoning Administrator, an ECIA staff planner, and a member of the County Zoning
Commission. The purpose of this Committee is to work with in conjunction with
Dubuque County's comprehensive plan update to plan jointly for future growth and
development in the two-mile fringe areas around Dubuque.
As an initial step, this committee will host an educational workshop on fringe area
planning for local government officials throughout Dubuque County on January 18,
2001. We ask that City Council members set aside time for this workshop, and to
watch for an upcoming invitation providing information about this session.
The Commission appreciates the City Council's support of long-range planning, and
looks forward to working with the City Council as we plan for our City's exciting future.
Sincerely,
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Mary Lynn Neumeister, Chairperson
Long Range Planning Advisory Commission