The Iowa State University community has an exciting opportunity to partner with the city of Ames to help plan for the future. Ames currently utilizes a two-decades-old Land Use Policy Plan (LUPP) for city planning and city council decision-making. It’s time for a plan update. With public input, the new “Ames Plan 2040: Live | Grow | Belong” will provide direction for the future.

To create a successful plan, we need diverse, extensive and thoughtful citizen input. As your Mayor, I am asking you to get involved. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to stop by the Pioneer Room, on the third floor of the Memorial Union, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13. This come-and-go “Snack N Share” event is sponsored by the ISU Community & Regional Planning Club with assistance from the City of Ames Planning & Housing Department. It will be set up so participants can grab some free munchies and provide public input quickly through talking to staff and club members while looking at interactive displays.

The CRP Club will be holding several “pop-up” events at various locations around campus including places such as the College of Design, the Parks Library or the Gerdin Business Building. Please look for these opportunities to get involved and share your thoughts.

The current LUPP was adopted in 1997. Although it’s been updated, the plan is overdue for a full revision. Since 1997, Ames has grown by more than 16,000 people. We have eclipsed the population growth projections and varied from some of the development concepts included in the current LUPP. Two years ago, the Ames City Council recognized the need for a complete rewrite and directed staff to begin exploring options for a new plan. We retained a consultant to assist in the plan creation. After early discussions, the city council broadened the focus beyond land use and decided a Comprehensive Plan would provide better direction. The new plan will incorporate a wide range of topics, concepts, and issues that will assist council in setting policy and making decisions over the next 10 to 20 years.

On Dec. 18, 2018, council convened a work session with staff and the consultant to start the planning process. The results of that session can be viewed on the city’s website (www.CityOfAmes.org/AmesPlan2040) along with project updates, meetings, news and a survey.

Gathering citizen input is an essential component of this new plan. Opinions on community priorities, housing development sizes, types and locations; preferences on city growth; sustainability opportunities; quality of life initiatives and other salient issues that help strengthen our community are all considerations of the new plan.

Whether you live in Ames or not, I encourage everyone to participate. This document will be used to plan our community and implement change. Its success relies on an accurate representation of our entire community’s priorities and vision, and that can only be achieved through your participation in the plan creation. So let’s work together and collaborate in a thoughtful and balanced community-wide conversation. Please be part of the planning process as we collectively embark upon Ames Plan 2040: Live | Grow | Belong. We look forward to hearing from you!

John Haila became the Mayor of Ames in January 2018. A retired architect and Iowa State University graduate, John and his wife, Mary, have two sons, two daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.