Monroe County Comprehensive Plan

A week from tomorrow (November 17), the Monroe County Plan Commission will meet to discuss the proposed Monroe County Comprehensive Plan (also known as the Growth Policies Plan). The purpose of this document is to guide development in Monroe County in such a way that our rich natural heritage is preserved for generations to come.

There will be a period for public comment at this meeting. At previous meetings, the developers and their allies (engineering firms, banks, title companies, etc.) were very well represented, and, as might be expected, they spoke on behalf of their own short-sighted interests. It is important, therefore, that people who want to preserve the beauty of our county come out to this meeting and speak in support of the Plan.

If you're afraid to speak because you don't understand it or you don't have time to read it, there is an excellent overview of the Plan prepared by the head of the Planning Department, Greg Zody. You can read this overview by clicking here. It took me about twenty to thirty minutes to go through the overview. I will admit that I didn't understand some of the details presented, but I still came away with a good understanding of the general philosophy of the Plan.

If you know that you will be unable to attend the Plan Commission Meeting on the 17^th but still want your voice to be heard, you can submit written comments by clicking here.

Finally, you can get an excellent perspective of the proposed plan and the current plan from a column written in the Bloomington Alternative by DFMC member Greg Travis titled, A Noble Plan.