A second and final open house for the public to review future land uses in Greene County will be held Tuesday in Willard.
The Greene County Land Use Plan will be up for review 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Willard High School Commons, 515 E. Jackson St.
The plan proposes uses for the unincorporated portions of Greene County and will be used to guide the Greene County Planning Board and county commission in making future zoning decisions. They will take into consideration current land uses, existing urban service areas, soils, floodplains, groundwater and surface water, and availability of sewers, water, adequate roads, schools and other infrastructure, according to a news release.
Greene County's last comprehensive plan, which included a land plan, was approved in 1981. The updated plan is designed to address issues related to unprecedented growth the county has experienced since the 1990s, the release said.
A draft of the new plan was presented to the public in October 2007 and has since been revised with changes recommended by the task force and county residents. The most substantive change, according to the release, was the removal of areas designated for urban reserve, which is for future high-density residential development, and for agricultural preserve, which protects land from residential development. County residents and task force members had said the designations were too restrictive and could limit future development.
The revised plan also is available at the Greene County Web site, at the link below.
The planning board is scheduled to consider the plan at its Aug. 18 meeting, according to county Public Information Officer Jenny Fillmer Edwards. Once approved by the board, the plan would go before the county commission.[[In-content Ad]]
Under construction beside the existing Republic branch of the Springfield-Greene County Library District – which remains in operation throughout the project – is a new building that will double the size of the original, according to library officials.
