The Council Bluffs City Council voted to authorize staff to select a consultant or consultant team to prepare a 2050 comprehensive plan and an updated downtown master plan, a process staff said will include robust community engagement and is funded by previously budgeted money.

The decision matters because the comprehensive plan guides land use, development and downtown priorities for years; the city’s current plan is set to lapse in 2026 and staff said an update will help set policy through mid-century.

A resolution before the council (Resolution 25-246) authorized the community development director to select the consultant team. A staff member told the council the city budgeted $600,000 for the work last year and that the update will also include a focused downtown plan that has not been revisited in roughly 20 years. "From last year's comprehensive plan, we budgeted the $600,000," the staff member said. The staff member described a planned process that includes issuing an RFP, evaluating proposals to meet the city's objectives within that budget, and conducting at least three to four public meetings plus focus groups with staff, elected officials and boards.

Council debate centered on timing and scope. One councilmember urged the importance of planning and said, "If you fail the plan, you're planning for failure," arguing for being proactive. Other councilmembers expressed concern about an 18‑month schedule and said the timeline should allow extra time to address any issues that arise; the staff member said completing the project within 18 months would leave a window to correct problems before the current plan expires in 2026.

No changes to funding were made at the meeting; the resolution authorized the selection process, not a contract award. The next steps are issuance of the RFP, proposal evaluations, consultant selection and a series of public engagement events to develop the draft plan for future council review.