Joint comprehensive plan development approved for Mason City, Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors this morning approved a contract with RDG Planning and Design to help develop a joint comprehensive plan with the cities of Mason City and Clear Lake and administered by the North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corporation.

Such a plan will set forth a vision and goals for the county’s future and provides the overall foundation for all land use regulation in the cities and the county.

County director of administrative services Tom Meyer says RDG was chosen by a panel made up from all the entities involved from the three applications received for the project.  “We’ll start the project in late July, Our portion of the fee is $56,000. The total fee is $290,000. In the contract, if there’s any changes that specifically benefit a jurisdiction, that jurisdiction would pay for it. If it’s more of a general change, it would be pro-rated as a percentage of whatever we pay of the $290,000.”

Supervisor Tim Latham says from the county’s perspective, a new comprehensive plan is well overdue.  “It’s really going to bring everything together so that we’re all kind of on the same page, just like working together as far as economic development, and this will give us another tool to help us to do the zoning stuff that we need to do.”

The Clear Lake City Council approved the contract at their meeting Monday night, while the City Council in Mason City will consider it at their meeting tonight.