Riley County planning staff present draft goals, propose limited expansion of designated growth area near lake

Comprehensive-plan update: Riley County planning staff presented draft goals and growth-area mapping and sought commissioner direction at the Sept. 29 commission meeting.

Planning Director Amanda Webb and consultants from Stantec walked commissioners through draft goals developed from prior public workshops and stakeholder interviews and explained a proposed modest expansion of the county's designated growth area along the county lake to provide more residential flexibility where topography and existing development make that appropriate. "We're just trying to keep it kind of high level right now not to overwhelm," Webb said, describing the distinction between overarching goals and the later objectives and actions that will specify implementation.

The nut graf: The draft goals reflect prior engagement and new outreach; staff said they will use objectives and actions to clarify how the goals will be implemented and will coordinate with the four small cities that asked to retain their existing designated growth areas. Adam, of the Stantec project team, said the goals "are reflective of both what we've heard from the community, from, the original engagement effort hosted by the county, and then also the, engagement that we had heard, from our events that we had hosted as your consultant." That combination, staff said, informed the maps and the recommendations now being shared with commissioners.

Body details: Webb said most of the plan's draft goals have been available since an Aug. 5 public workshop; some sections (notably health and natural/cultural resources) had fewer subcommittee reviews and were recently added to the draft. Staff and consultants emphasized that goals are intentionally high-level and will be paired with specific objectives and actions in later drafts to avoid confusion over intent.

On designated growth areas, county staff reported they met individually with each of the four small cities and found each requested no expansion of their growth areas; the county will therefore keep those maps as-is. The one area proposed for county expansion is along the lake, where staff showed a map (pink/purple = existing; green = proposed expansion). Webb said the green expansion reflects existing scattered housing and intentionally excludes steep slopes, feedlots and prime agricultural soils: "We don't wanna be encouraging growth, again, on slopes, on feedlots, on prime agricultural soils," she said, explaining why the expansion shape is irregular.

Staff clarified that being inside a designated growth area does not automatically grant permits but makes residential development more feasible by easing some agricultural restrictions and directing development to parcels more suitable for nonagricultural uses. Webb said the county will coordinate maps with Manhattan's urban-area boundary where city planning already identifies future servicing and growth areas.

Stakeholder outreach: Consultants reported interviews with more than two dozen stakeholders, including business groups, small cities, and voluntary organizations; Stantec summarized common themes in economic development, housing, trails and health-related planning. The presentation also noted continuing conversations about solid waste options such as food composting and about making public health resources more visible; Webb said such ideas will be reflected in actions where appropriate.

Schedule and next steps: Consultants and staff said the project is slightly behind the original calendar but expects draft scenarios this week and a county-staff draft by late October, with city and planning-board review in November and final delivery to the commission targeted in December. Webb and the consultants agreed to share a corrected PDF of the schedule and materials that had been cut off in the packet.

Ending: Commissioners did not take a formal action on the plan at the meeting; staff said there remains time to refine language, insert objectives and actions, and respond to commissioner and public input before the formal adoption process begins.