Planning commission approves text change to exclude exclusive-use zones from LESA scoring

The Linn County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Oct. 20 to approve a text amendment clarifying that the county’s Land Evaluation Site Assessment scoring tool (known in staff presentations as "Lisa") does not apply when land is rezoned to an exclusive-use zoning district, including the landfill district and the newly created nuclear power generation district.

Charlie Nichols, planning and development director, told the commission the change is a "very simple addition to our ordinance" intended to codify an existing practice. Nichols said Lisa is a scoring tool used to evaluate whether property is suitable to rezone from agricultural to commercial or residential use, and that exclusive-use districts historically were not evaluated with Lisa but the code never explicitly stated that exemption.

The commission had no public comment or substantive member questions on the item. After a motion to approve, the recording secretary called roll and recorded affirmative votes from DuBois, Koontz, Greniss, Sadler, Brecht and Kratz. The amendment will move to the Linn County Board of Supervisors for first consideration on Nov. 3, 2025, per staff.

The vote and next step: the commission’s approval is a recommendation that sends the ordinance amendment to the Board of Supervisors; the county’s formal legislative process will continue at that meeting.

What this means: the change is a code clean-up that prevents the LESA/"Lisa" scoring process from being applied when a property seeks rezoning into an exclusive-use district (such as landfill or nuclear power generation), according to staff. The action does not change existing uses in those districts and does not by itself rezone any particular parcels.

The commission approved the amendment at the meeting of Oct. 20, 2025. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the ordinance for first reading on Nov. 3, 2025.