The City of Clara City, with the assistance of the UMVRDC, has been working on a Comprehensive Plan that will help city leaders make informed decisions of how to guide development over the next 10-15 years. The Clara City Planning Commission took the lead on this project, and met seven times over the past 18 months to discuss and review goals and strategies for the Plan.
Citizen participation has been a key component to this planning process. In an effort to gain a broad representation of citizen participation and input, the Clara City Planning Commission conducted a community-wide survey in the fall of 2011. The public was also invited to review the draft Plan before adoption through a variety of methods including a public hearing, open house and draft copies available on the web, library and city office.
The City Council adopted the Plan on August 15th, 2012. Clara City should be very proud of the process they have completed in order to identify and prioritize city needs of the short- and long-term future. Clara City should also be very pleased with the end product, a Comprehensive Plan document that will help leverage funding for projects and guide the City’s future investment priorities for years to come.
A comprehensive plan may attract new citizens by having some assurance of what their future surroundings will look like. Current residents can plan for the future with confidence that the city will be kept up. One of the most valuable components of the comprehensive plan is the goals and strategies that the city decision-makers agree are important when looking at the needs of the city and where to invest limited resources.
The UMVRDC encourages all cities to have a comprehensive plan and update it every ten years. For more information on comprehensive plans, call Kristi Fernholz, UMVRDC Senior Planner: 320-289-1981 ext. 6 or kristi.fernholz@umvrdc.org.
The completed plan is available here on our website.
