Comprehensive plan changes discussed
BACKUS Cass County's four committees working on a five-year update of the comprehensive plan expect to hold public meetings on the plan in January and February.
They proposed that the board adopt the revised plan by May.
On Monday, the county board and planning commission discussed proposed changes to the comprehensive plan at a special work session meeting in Backus.
The water plan section is tracking with current changes to the state's water management plan.
While the county has inspected 5,000 private sewer systems for compliance, it is the plan's goal to inspect and inventory all private systems.
Other goals include implementing shoreline vegetation restoration plans, adding new exotic species to the clear-water concern list, opposing all reservoir draw-downs or exportation of surface waters, creating an interactive web-based permit program and implementing a storm-water runoff management ordinance.
Since the last water plan adopted five years ago, the county has seen implemented a pipeline spill emergency program for the Mississippi Headwaters Board River Defense Network and has seen the feedlot program switch from county to state management.
On private land use, new goals will be to develop guidelines for orderly growth, update aerial photography, develop a rating system for preserving agricultural land, promote conservation development, cooperate with DNR on regional parks and trails, cooperate with regional planning, manage second-tier development, prepare to provide infrastructure for high-density residential and municipal development, improve solid waste ordinance enforcement and try to select sites for future industrial development.
In the last five years, goals met include merging the shoreland and off-shore land use ordinances into a countywide ordinance, completing the Minnesota highways 371 and 210 corridor study, updating the subdivision ordinance and enacting minor subdivision regulations.
On public infrastructure, goals are to make a long-term transition from the current land-locked courthouse location to a larger site such as Ah-Gwah-Ching; to encourage housing authorities serving the county's residents to adopt a unified approach to the service; adopt the Uniform Building Code; develop a model to show the value of public land for timber management, recreation and environmental purposes; seek additional state and federal resources for the local transportation system; and acquire transportation and utilities right of way for new developments.