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Neighbor urges board to use updated soil data; planning staff says county is bound to adopted comp-plan CSR
Summary
At the Bushnell Acres rezoning hearing a resident said recent CSR (Corn Suitability Rating) data shows high-quality soil and urged the board to use updated data; staff replied the county uses CSR ratings adopted in 1998 while a comprehensive-plan update is underway. The board adopted the rezoning ordinance after the hearing.
During the Bushnell Acres rezoning public hearing, Josh McGill (public commenter) told the Dallas County Board of Supervisors that the planning report relied on older CSR soil data and that more recent certified CSR calculations show values in the mid- to upper-80s, which he said indicates high-quality farmland that would be permanently lost if rezoned to allow residential lots.
McGill urged the board to make decisions based on current verified data rather than the legacy datasets from 1998 and 2000 that the comprehensive plan relies on. He emphasized the importance of agricultural land to Iowa and asked the board to reconsider using up-to-date soil-quality information when evaluating rezoning proposals.
Planning staff (S4) responded that the county is in the process of updating its comprehensive plan but that, while that process is underway, the county continues to use the CSR ratings adopted in 1998 as the guiding dataset for planning and zoning recommendations. Staff said the board could amend the guiding datasets as part of the comp-plan update, but that was not part of the current rezoning decision.
Planning staff noted that Planning and Zoning recommended approval of the Bushnell Acres rezone by a 6–1 vote. After public comments and staff responses, the board voted to adopt Ordinance 2026-009 to rezone Bushnell Acres to R-E1 (3-acre minimum lots). The transcript records the motion carried; staff also reminded the board that ordinances require three readings and the item will appear on next week's agenda for additional readings if required.
Quotes from the hearing: Josh McGill said, "More recent certified data shows CSRs in the mid to upper eighties. This represents high quality soil." Planning staff replied, "We are still working off the 1998 comprehensive plan and the approved soil data or CSR ratings that were adopted 1998... That's the data we're presenting to the commission, and that's what we're obligated to provide."
