Madison County supervisors schedule public input after residents raise concerns about comprehensive plan map

Madison County supervisors spent a substantial portion of the meeting responding to public concern and misinformation about the county’s draft comprehensive plan, emphasizing that the document itself does not create ordinances and scheduling public input sessions to clarify details.

Supervisors outlined three public input meetings — one at the annex, one at the Truro Community Building and one at the Earlham Community Building — after members of the public and some supervisors reported hearing claims that the plan would mandate one-acre lots or otherwise strip property owners of development rights. Board members repeatedly said the comprehensive plan is not ordinance language and that any actual zoning or ordinance changes would be handled separately by the zoning commission with additional public hearings.

Speakers on the record encouraged residents to read the final draft and attend input sessions; supervisors said they will take steps to clarify the future land use map that some residents misinterpreted as prescriptive. One supervisor noted that Polk County and Warren County experiences influenced local concern and said the county intends to avoid scheduling ordinance changes before adequate public engagement.

What’s next: county staff and supervisors will hold the scheduled public input sessions to solicit feedback and will ensure zoning and ordinance actions, if any, proceed through dedicated public hearings.