The monster cometh. If real estate developers have their way, life is about to change back home on the farm. My home turf, the Alleman area, is under attack by the suburban sprawl beast.

Two weeks ago, the City of Ankeny unveiled its Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which projects the city’s plans to 2020. The proposal calls for an eventual commercial and residential development of a huge area north of the current city limits, more than 32,000 acres, according to 1000 Friends of Iowa, a community-based organization advocating sustainable land use.

If the plan is approved, it promises to swallow huge areas of land in rural northern Polk County, specifically from Elkhart, Douglas, Lincoln, Crocker, Saylor and Delaware townships.

That comes within two miles of my family’s farm, which has largely been in the family since my Norwegian ancestors established it well over 100 years ago. According to the plan, by 2020 Ankeny’s borders will abut the city limits of Alleman.

Why is this needed? Ankeny’s 2000 census according to the city Web site is 27,117. The plan anticipates a population of 55,000 by 2020. Ankeny claims to be growing by 8 percent per year. Precious farmland that has been in many families for generations and is among the most fertile in the state is being swallowed as Ankeny expands north.

Ankeny says it will eventually need the farmland to build suburban developments and commercial districts, because the city is growing too quickly.

Don’t tell that to LaVon Griffieon, whose sixth-generation family farm is now surrounded on three of four sides by land that has been annexed into the City of Ankeny, for eventual residential and commercial development.

“I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to save our farm,” Griffieon said. Just since July, Griffieon said, Ankeny has annexed more than 2500 acres. Griffieon is president of the board at 1000 Friends of Iowa, based in Des Moines.

The Des Moines Register covered the community meeting Oct. 27 in Ankeny, and at least two people from our neighborhood spoke out.

Phyllis Volz, who lives on a fourth-generation farm north of Ankeny, told the Register, “You have a farm that’s been in the family about 100 years.

“You hate to see them put pavement on it.”

Another community member, Barb Liske of Elkhart, said it’s not just the farmers who have to worry, it’s also the people who treasure their small-town way of life.

But where should those people go, if they can’t build more houses?

Into one of the thousands of existing lots and vacant buildings, says Ed Fallon, a state legislator representing Des Moines and executive director of 1000 Friends of Iowa.

“Everywhere you look, poor growth decisions are being made,” Fallon said. He said that according to a 1997 City Manager’s report, there are at least 5,500 vacant lots inside Des Moines and more than 3,000 unsold or undeveloped lots on land within Ankeny.

It is also about building vibrant communities with local businesses, schools and parks accessible on foot or by public transportation rather than car. “It makes no sense to build subdivisions totally disconnected from schools, churches and commercial and retail amenities that people need on a regular basis,” Fallon said.

Indeed, the new box stores in Ankeny are entirely separated from the residential areas and beg the use of a car. In addition, Griffieon said, nearly all the money spent leaves the community, destined for the offices of large, non-Iowa corporations.

Instead, encouraging local businesses near residential areas makes the community less polluted, the streets more pedestrian, bike-friendly and safer for kids and makes getting necessary items more accessible to people who do not drive, like some of Iowa’s senior citizens.

There are examples of good growth, Fallon insists. The Somerset development in north Ames and the Peninsula in Iowa City employed sustainable strategies, according to Fallon. These community developments put three or four units on each acre of land rather than one, and put retail and commercial space within walking distance, building a tighter community. Griffieon contends civic participation in the process is essential as profit-driven developers are the only major players so far. Also, she said supporting local businesses should be a priority — “We vote with our dollars,” she said.

For the sake of my home community and hundreds of others around Iowa and the nation, let us make community-driven, sustainable planning decisions the new trend before there’s nothing left to save.