Cerro Gordo supervisors approve joint comprehensive plan

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved the new joint comprehensive plan that also includes the cities of Mason City and Clear Lake. The new plan sets forth a vision and goals for the county’s future and provides an overall foundation for all land use regulations in the cities and the county.

The only change the supervisors made to the county’s portion of the plan was to an area near Camp Tanglefoot, which originally was to be designated as “low density”, but has been changed to “parks & open space”. County administrative officer Tom Meyer says the change was recommended after public input.  “I think that’s what the neighbors are seeking to keep that open, keep the character of the neighborhood over there like it is rather than having development. Some of that area is actually protected already. If you drive by there, whether there would be development in the next 20 years, who knows? The only change we’d recommend and I would recommend to the supervisors is to make that it ‘parks & open space’ by Camp Tanglefoot.”

Supervisor Casey Callanan says the comprehensive plan is a guide to what should happen in areas of the county and not the zoning laws that are in effect.   “Regardless of this being part of it or out of it, it doesn’t change the process in that somebody wants to develop or not develop in the future, there’s still the same avenues right? So regardless of how that would be in the comprehensive plan, you’d still have to through the chain of command, for a lack of a better term, to develop it, right? Whether it’s Planning & Zoning and us, Board of Adjustment, whatever it is, that still remains intact regardless of the comprehensive plan.”

Charlie Cowell, an urban planner with RDG Planning & Design, the firm charged with creating the new comprehensive plan, says the intent of the original plan was to at the very most allow single-family homes, which would not happen in some of that area anyway due to federal regulations.   “I see no issue with it being park space or low intensity. The fact is the northern part of where that is now is mostly flood and wetland area anyway, so it wouldn’t be able to be touched through the federal FEMA standards.”

The Mason City and Clear Lake city councils approved the joint plan at meetings earlier this month.