The Monroe County Comprehensive Plan Committee met Dec. 12 to discuss data gathered over the past year and take steps toward the first draft of a plan for the future of this community.

The meeting was hosted by Emily Calderon, director of planning with Moran Economic Development, who has been guiding the committee in development of a comprehensive plan since early this year.

Efforts over the past few months have largely centered around data gathering and opinion recording, with the first meeting of the committee in February honing in on perceived strengths and weaknesses of Monroe County.

Members of the committee – which includes various local officials and other prominent individuals in the county – pointed to quality schools, safe communities and small-town, rural atmospheres as some of the area’s strengths whereas some challenges included high taxes, traffic on primary thoroughfares like Route 3 and difficulty for newcomers to find a place in the community.

Elements of the plan were also prioritized, with quality of life ranking at the top followed by land use, natural environment, economic development, housing, transportation and infrastructure.

Calderon and others with the committee went on after the meeting to speak with elected officials and several stakeholders – folks representing Monroe County agribusiness, business, real estate and development and community organizations – to gain additional perspectives.

Hearing from the public was a key focus over the summer as an online survey was conducted, garnering 794 responses.

Residents pointed to low crime rates, the rural nature of the county and communities and overall quality of life as some of the strengths while high cost of living, increasing traffic and loss of small-town atmosphere were identified as challenges this area faces.

The public polling continued during the week of the Monroe County Fair in late July, with folks stopping by a comprehensive plan booth set up at the fairgrounds.

As fairgoers stopped by the booth to share their thoughts, most indicated a clear preference toward a conservation approach to the county’s future, with development being focused in or very close to municipalities while being limited elsewhere.

With further research being done to evaluate the current state of Monroe County – noting population, infrastructure and other statistics – the committee met earlier this month to add to and refine this information as a comprehensive plan draft draws near.

Much of the meeting involved Calderon providing an overview of the various statistics and opinions that have been gathered.

She noted how Monroe is among the few counties in the state projected to grow in the near future, with a moderate estimated growth of 13,601 people and 6,988 new households over the next 25 years.

Most housing in Monroe County was built after 1990, with 83 percent being single-family detached homes and 82 percent being owner-occupied.

The local economy is largely made up of white collar jobs at 66 percent, followed by 18 percent blue collar and 16 percent service and farming.

Various development constraints were identified primarily in the western areas of the county, including sinkholes, land designated for conservation and flood plains.

Calderon also commented on thoughts shared by those who stopped by the booth at the fair.

“Most of the people who participated in that preferred the conservation approach where development really only happens very close to municipal boundaries, and land outside of that is identified for conservation, development is limited, and development that does happen is very low-density, farm-style residential or cluster-style development where you have several homes very close together to conserve and preserve the land outside of that area,” Calderon said.

Taking into account the conservation preferences expressed by residents over the past few months, Calderon offered a map of potential development showing possible expansion in and around 0.5 miles of the county’s municipalities – namely Waterloo, Columbia, Valmeyer, Hecker, Maeystown and Fults.

Calderon’s presentation also identified several points of focus for the comprehensive plan, including housing, the local economy, infrastructure and mobility, open space and the natural environment and land use.

For housing, priorities seem to lie in supporting the development of diverse housing options in the county and making use of existing infrastructure in municipalities so as to limit unincorporated housing development.

Local economy priorities center around workforce development, preserving and protecting land for agriculture and supporting the Monroe County Economic Development Corporation’s regional efforts.

On infrastructure and mobility, the committee discussed supporting rural transit services such as the Monroe Randolph Transit District and prioritizing safe intersections along Route 3.

The committee also touched on preserving the county’s natural environment through means such as focusing on stormwater management to mitigate flood risk and promoting tourism around the county’s trails and other preserved areas.

Finally, land use was discussed with the committee talking about supporting municipalities in their planning efforts and emphasizing conservation, balancing the county’s growth and the preservation of farm land and other rural areas.

With members of the committee contributing their own ideas to supplement or adjust the concepts organized by Calderon, the meeting came to a close as she explained plans to put together a first draft of this new comprehensive plan.

One question that came up during the meeting was whether the currently-developing plan was meant to be an update to the county’s previous plan or something entirely new.

Calderon noted the previous plan is considered, though the current state and needs of Monroe County are also prioritized.

“It’s supposed to be kind of an update, but we always try to take a fresh approach to asking the basic questions to find out if the last one, if the information in it is still applicable or if we want to take a new approach,” Calderon said.

Speaking with the Republic-Times following the meeting, Calderon spoke positively about the current state of the comprehensive plan’s development.

She particularly noted the strong number of responses from the online survey which, though somewhat small compared to the county’s overall population, was nevertheless notable given how many people tend to provide feedback to these sorts of polls.

“In my experience, I think the county has had a great response to the comprehensive plan,” Calderon said. “Just about 800 responses to the online survey, which is fantastic… We had a good turnout at the county fair, and we’ve had great feedback with some of our small conversations with our focus groups.”

On the future of the planning process, Calderon said she hopes to have a first draft of the plan put together early next year.