Boone County is launching new opportunities for the community to help shape a new master plan.
“It’s just critical that we hear from people,” Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick said. “We don’t want Boone County government … being the leading voice on this.”
The opportunities for public comment are:
- A virtual community meeting Sept. 12
- An online survey accessible through www.ourboone.com
- A paper survey being mailed to 2,000 random county residents next week
- A public drop-in session Sept. 26
The county previously announced in May plans to update its master plan, which hasn’t been updated since 1996. The plan sets out a non-binding set of priorities for the future of the county. The current master plan includes goals related to development, infrastructure and monitoring population growth.
The Sept. 12 virtual meeting will include a live sit-in at the Centralia City Hall Community Room, 114 S. Rollins St. in Centralia, and the Southern Boone School District Central Office Board Room, 5275 Redtail Drive, in Ashland.
The Sept. 26 drop-in meeting will be held at the Boone Electric Community Room, 1413 Range Line St.
An updated plan is timely as the county has changed since 1996. Boone County’s population and developed space have grown about 50% and 17%, respectively, according to information on the county website.
Bill Florea, resource management director for Boone County, who is leading the project, noted that Boone is one of the few counties in Missouri that have planning and zoning requirements that regulate the rules around what can be built.
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A master plan sets guidelines for decisions made by the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The commission provides the go-ahead on most new development, so having an updated master plan that represents the communities wishes is important.
Kendrick told the Missourian on Wednesday that community input will be the driving force in updating the plan.
A brochure for the master plan emphasized that the plan’s jurisdiction will be unincorporated areas of Boone County, which Kendrick clarified is land outside of municipalities like Columbia and Ashland.
“The master plan is really kind of (about) how do we want to see growth? How do we want to grow Boone County in the future within unincorporated zone?” Kendrick said.
Kendrick added that mail surveys seeking comments on the plan will be sent out next week to 2,000 randomized households in unincorporated areas of Boone County.
Infrastructure is also expected to be heavily addressed by the plan, especially with the incoming development of new lanes to Interstate 70.
“We’ll need to make sure that that’s all on top of our minds: where additional outer roads may go and how we need to prepare for that growth,” Kendrick said.
Some of the key aspects expected to be in the updated plan are improving Boone County’s housing market, as 26% of renters spend more than 50% of their income on rent, and providing much of the county’s rural areas with broadband connection.