Linn County Board of Supervisors Approves Updated Fringe Area Plan for the City of Ely

The Linn County Board of Supervisors today approved an updated Fringe Area Plan for Linn County and the City of Ely. East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) coordinated the work to update the plan and used public feedback from an open house hosted by the City of Ely and Linn County in May when making the updates. The Fringe Area Plan guides development and orderly growth in unincorporated Linn County within two miles of Ely. Updates to the plan include:

• Reducing the number of fringe areas from four to two
• Reducing the overall size of the Non-Metro Urban Service Area. This reduction allows for potential city development identified in the City of Ely's comprehensive plan. According to the Linn County Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Code, Non-Metro Urban Service Areas are meant to be maintained primarily for agricultural use until the land is needed for orderly city development and is annexed into the adjacent city. If land within the Non-Metro Urban Service Area is developed under County jurisdiction, it is to be developed in a manner compatible with the adjacent city.
• Reducing the City review period for new developments from 90 days to 60 days

View the updated Ely Fringe Area Plan on Linn County Planning & Development's website.

Fringe Area Plans

Fringe Area Plans are intended to allow for coordinated land use planning between Linn County and incorporated cities within the county, specifically for the areas within two miles of city boundaries. Fringe Area Plans direct new development toward mutually agreed-upon locations, promote orderly land development, and reduce public infrastructure costs. In addition, these plans are meant to encourage the retention of agricultural land and protect critical natural resources. Each plan offers a framework to guide the growth and development of the fringe areas over 20 years, with periodic reviews occurring as needed. The Ely Fringe Area Plan was last updated in 2007.