Houston County is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Public informational meetings were held on Jan. 31, Feb. 21, and March 13 at the Commissioners Room at the courthouse to share ideas and changes to the preliminary draft plan.
Any further written comments would need to be submitted to the County Planning Commission by the Monday, March 31, deadline.
Houston County last updated its Comprehensive Land Use Plan on Dec. 8, 1998, following its adoption of the plan by the County Planning Commission on Sept. 24, 1998. Minnesota statute requires county plans to be updated at least every ten years.
Over the last decade, there has been a significant amount of new land development that has occurred. Some of the development has been very intensive in nature, and has posed new land use issues regarding agricultural uses and rural housing, and fringe expansion around local communities.
Much of this rural, non-farm land use is part of the expanding La Crosse metropolitan area, which the U.S. Census Bureau has now defined the county as being part of that area.
The county commissioners and planning commission have determined that these new issues require the 1998 plan to be re-evaluated, with the addition of policies and standards that appropriately address new land use and development trends and projections.
The Houston County Comprehensive Water Management Plan (Water Plan) has also been updated in coordination with the land use plan, and those elements of the water plan, exclusive of the five-year improvements schedule, are included in a single document now entitled, the Land Use and Water Plan.
This plan adopts by reference the supportive materials from the previous water plan and supportive materials related to this water plan update.
The land use portion of the plan is being updated through the County Environmental Services Department. The principal work on updating the water plan portion is being performed by the Root River Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff.
Information gathering process
The number of concerned citizens in attendance at the March 13 informational meeting overflowed the commissioner's room.
Much of the agitation among those in attendance was with the proposed addition of more regulations to the already restrictive plan currently in place, citizen and property rights, and repeated concern about the existing 40-acre policy.
Rick Frank, director of Houston County Environmental Services posed the question, "With the world changing, how do we take all the pressures that are coming in? How do we conform to have some sort of unity to satisfy the taxpayer?"
Frank explained that the recorded comments made at the three public informational meetings, along with written comments, would all be given to the planning commission to review, and would be taken into consideration when updating the land use plan.
"We wouldn't be going through this if we didn't think it needed some changing," commented Glenn Kruse of the planning board
"Give them time to digest all that," Frank urged about the work that lies ahead on this project.
"This document cannot be changed without public hearings," Kruse explained about the next step in the update process, which must take place before the document is presented to the county board.
The public has until the end of March to submit additional written comments or input, which should be addressed to the Houston County Zoning Department at the courthouse.
Members of the Houston County Planning Commission include Glenn Kruse, Garland Moe, Bruce Lee, Charlie Wieser, Terry Rosendahl, David Alstad and county commissioners Larry Graf and Dave Corcoran.
