Bluffs will use grant for major plan update

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Call it a road map to the future.

Council Bluffs planning officials soon will begin a major update of the city�s comprehensive plan.

�The plan lays out the framework for the future, to help guide orderly development,� said Rose Brown, a planner in the Community Development Department.

The city this week was awarded a $50,000 grant through the Rebuild Iowa Office to help with the effort. A total of $1 million was awarded statewide.

Brown said $50,000 was the maximum a community could receive from the Rebuild Iowa Office�s Smart Planning Program.

This will be the first major update of the plan since 1994, she said, though there have been amendments here and there.

While the plan will address flooding, it will focus on future land use, transportation and infrastructure needs, future demographics, recommended areas for development, and more, she said.

�We use the plan daily,� Brown said.

The city expects to get the process going in earnest in the spring, starting with the hiring of a consulting firm, she said. The plan should be completed the following year. Total cost might be $250,000 to $300,000.