The Ames City Council will review Ames’ land use policy plan for the first time in six years in a joint session Tuesday with Ames Planning and Zoning.

City staff has put together an evaluation of the plan, which will be reviewed by the council. The council may look at amending the plan, but the changes will be minor, said Mayor Ted Tedesco.

Councilman Steve Goodhue said the city staff will report which improvements can be made to the land use policy plan.

“The city will revisit the plan and see if it is still working well and managing growth in a proper manner,” Goodhue said.

One possible change the council may explore is involuntary annexation into the city, Tedesco said.

“[Involuntary annexation] will add land to the city limits,” Tedesco said. “It will make more land available. Most of the land in the city is currently used.”

During the summer the council discussed tax abatement incentives to help lure people into annexation, but it was not successful, Tedesco said.

“There just isn’t enough land wanting to be voluntarily annexed,” Tedesco said.

Voluntary annexation makes city limits “very erratic,” he added.

Tedesco said density issues will also be reviewed and density codes could be changed to provide larger lots within Ames. Expanding lot size will mean fewer houses but larger yards, he said.

Tedesco said changes discussed at the meeting may be put on future agendas or sent back to the city for more discussion.

The council will also hear from city staff on the status of a new aquatics and wellness center during Tuesday’s meeting.

At its July 8 meeting, the Council approved a $23.6 million master plan for the facility. City staff was directed at that time to seek feedback from potential user groups and consider a date for a special bond election, which would fund the costs of building the center.

“[The city staff] will report at the meeting what user groups think,” Goodhue said.

Tedesco said the staff will not recommend a date for the election because all groups that will be campaigning in support of the aquatics center have been unable to meet during the summer.

Tedesco said he wants the issue to be voted on in a special election and not the November election so it does not get caught up in other issues or get lost among them.

The council is also considering postponing the election until after the Nov. 4 election in case there is any change in the economy, Tedesco said.

The joint session with the Ames Planning and Zoning Commission will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Ames City Council chambers in City Hall, 515 Clark Ave. The regular council meeting will take place immediately after the joint session.