Cass to adopt Highway 371 Corridor Plan by Dec. 31

WALKER -- The Cass County Board agreed by resolution Tuesday to adopt the Highway 371 Corridor Plan by Dec. 31 after receiving state comments on the plan sometime this year.

The plan originally was scheduled for adoption by June, but final drafts have yet to be presented to the county board for consideration. The state planning agency asked for the resolution the county adopted Tuesday in order for final state payments to be made for the project by June 30.

The extended schedule calls for Cass and Crow Wing counties to complete their review of the final plan draft and forward it to the state for comment by June 30. The state will complete a review and return comments to the counties within 60 days.

Both counties then will consider the state's comments and reply to the state on how the comments will be addressed.

The counties must adopt the Highway 371 Corridor Plan and incorporate it into their comprehensive plans by Dec. 31. They also must commit to completing community-based plans for the remainder of each county and show how this will be accomplished.

Cass County has been holding public hearings this winter and spring on a revised comprehensive plan, portions of which incorporate some provisions of the preliminary Highway 371 Corridor Plan.

The county board expects to consider adopting the revised county comprehensive plan in June.

The next scheduled county plan public hearing will be at 6 p.m. May 7 at Leader Town Hall. The private land use portion will be considered.