Plan commission gets ready to start comprehensive plan
Staff writer
Hillsboro Planning Commission met last Thursday at the Hillsboro City Building.
John Riggs of Riggs and Associates of Lindsborg, the commission's approved choice for a long-term city plan, attended the meeting and went over the steps involved for the comprehensive plan.
According to Riggs, the plan needs to focus on physical development.
"The end result is what the city will be physically in the future," said Riggs.
The plan also needs to be long-range in orientation. Riggs and Associates and the commission will be planning for 20 years from now on all their projections. It should be comprehensive in design and cover every aspect of the physical development of the community. The plan needs to be general, to "establish the box in which the city will grow," said Riggs. Finally, the plan should make a statement about the community's goals and objectives.
"Planning doesn't necessarily mean change," said Riggs. "The plan covers what we are now and what we want to be. It preserves what is good about the community."
The first step is completing an up-to- date base map of the city including demographics and land use. Riggs and Associates will be studying and analyzing past and present conditions, as well as emerging trends. The map will encompass Hillsboro and a three- mile radius of Hillsboro.
"It's a huge research project before you can get to the planning," said Riggs.
Outside of Hillsboro, Riggs and Associates will be looking at the urban potential for the land. Looking at the rural areas to see if any of them are likely to need city services in the future and determining water drainage.
According to Riggs, the city's interest in the outlying area shouldn't be a problem. He said that zoning laws do not apply to agricultural operations except for feed lots and if they are in a flood plain.
The second step in the comprehensive plan is to predict future conditions and analyze future opportunities and problems.
Riggs and Associates will then be doing an assessment of the community's desires and attitudes about the future of Hillsboro and the plan.
"Without public input and support," said Riggs, "it probably won't work very well."
The next step in the plan is a statement about the policies and strategies that will guide the plan. Then the plan will recommend ways of implementation, such as capital improvements, zoning, and regulations.
As far as zoning is concerned, Riggs foresees a possible problem in the future. Marion County has pre-emptive rights in zoning over the city of Hillsboro. Therefore, the commission will have to go through the county with any zoning issues.
Finally the plan will set up a way to get feedback and to analyze accomplishments, problems, and how to make corrections.
"We're legally required once a year to analyze the plan once it's been adopted," said Riggs.
Riggs plans to attend most planning commission meetings and will try to have some new information.
There was no administrator's report.
A commission member asked about the progress of the Windover Project. City administrator Steve Garrett said they were currently negotiating the amount of special taxes for the area and that next month is the target date for homes to be placed in town. According to Garrett, one is to be placed on Birch Street and one on Date Street.
When asked about the improvements being made on Main Street, Garrett said, "Main Street is coming slowly. The driveways and intersections are poured, and now it was just asphalt."
The next Hillsboro Planning Commission meeting will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 26.
