Council members and residents raised objections during the master plan work session to how the draft future growth map classifies areas in District 7 and adjacent places, and a council member presented an alternative map for staff review.

Councilman Tullock told the committee he had redrawn a portion of the map on page 37 to reflect what constituents describe as primarily farmland and low-density areas; he said the map in the draft uses the river as a dividing line and in places shows substantial additional urbanized or suburban growth area that some residents do not want. Several council members said citizens had asked that the county display current park and farming designations more clearly and that any change to the growth framework be informed by agricultural-productivity data.

Committee members asked planning staff to overlay the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s productive-agriculture dataset on the draft growth framework map so elected officials and residents can see where actively productive farmland falls relative to the proposed growth classifications. Council members said they want the map to reflect the community’s present-day land use and primary uses in the affected area while preserving the plan’s flexibility for possible future changes through secondary or conditional land-use mechanisms.

Members discussed the county’s three-class growth framework (urban, suburban, natural/rural) and a previously proposed fourth category (a semi-rural or rural-urban intermediate category). Several members said adding a fourth intermediate category might reduce controversy by giving a mapped designation that better matches areas that are not purely rural nor clearly suburban.

The committee did not adopt map revisions at the meeting but recorded a direction to staff: review the proposed red-line changes, overlay USDA agricultural-productivity data, and report back on whether the suggested map changes would require different code or UDO actions to implement. The committee also said suggested map changes from District 7’s representative should be circulated to other council members and included with the package of recommended revisions sent to administration.

Ending: The committee will seek staff analysis of the alternative District 7 map and an agricultural overlay and expects that analysis before drafting formal council amendments or scheduling a public hearing on a final master plan.