Planning for Tomorrow Today: Draft Comprehensive Plan Released

Following a year of gathering public input, the City of North Liberty has released the proposed Connected to Tomorrow comprehensive plan, a vision for the next 20 years, on the project’s website.

The plan, a complete rewrite of the document our community uses to guide decisions about land use, transportation, public spaces and investment and more, was written with help of RDG, a Des Moines-based planning consultant, and incorporates public input gathered through workshops, open houses, stakeholder discussions, surveys and other public engagement. The Planning & Zoning Commission is expected to consider a recommendation at its Feb. 7, 2023, meeting before the plan is consider for final approval and adoption by the North Liberty City Council.

The Connected to Tomorrow comprehensive plan for land use, Land Use Tomorrow, is guided by nine principles:

• Encourage flexible but compatible mixing of uses that avoids large areas concentrated with any one use.
• Respect and protect the environment in all decision making.
• Connect the city, neighborhoods, and sites with accessible mobility choices.
• Be commerce ready to support a range of enterprises.
• Use urban services efficiently to proactively plan for growth and market demands.
• Promote diverse housing options for all life stages and abilities.
• Plan for community amenities to serve all residents.
• Use public investments to promote private development.
• Lead transparently and collaboratively.

The plan also offers a vision for six other, related areas:

• Mobility Tomorrow: An accessible multi-modal transportation system that supports desirable patterns of community, neighborhood and economic development.
• Spaces & Places for Tomorrow: Evoke a special feeling of resident pride, visitor interest and business collaboration in North Liberty.
• Our Environment Tomorrow: Support natural environmental features while taking measures to mitigate and adapt to a changing climate.
• An Inclusive Tomorrow: Grow by creating neighborhood nodes of commerce or recreation that provide diversity in housing types, demographics and income levels.
• Doing Business Tomorrow: Support desirable economic growth that contributes to the long-term directions of North Liberty.
• Supporting Tomorrow: A high quality experience for all that live, work, or visit North Liberty that does not decrease as the city grows.

The North Liberty that the plan envisions will take time to realize but the plan will help our community make the important decisions on the path to that future. The draft plan is available for review on the project’s website at northlibertyiowa.org/connectedtotomorrow.