Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City reviews Imagine Dubuque progress; staff highlights 110 recommendations and tracking system
Summary
City planning staff told the Dubuque City Council on Aug. 3 that the nine‑year Imagine Dubuque comprehensive plan remains the city's policy guide, detailing 110 recommendations tracked through AchieveIt and citing recent successes and items 'off track.' Staff pledged to return with website metrics and next steps on a downtown master plan RFP.
City planning staff on Aug. 3 presented an annual update on Imagine Dubuque, the city's comprehensive plan adopted nine years ago, saying it remains the chief policy guide for land use, budget priorities and community goals.
"So a comprehensive plan is our policy guide for a community's physical, social, and economic development, and it also helps inform you as a city council for goal setting, annual budget priorities, and land use decisions," Planning Services Director Wally Wernemont said as he opened the work session. Assistant Planner Jason Duba then walked council members through the plan's tracking dashboard and the status definitions used for 110 recommendations.
Staff emphasized that the plan is implemented through a network of connectors, coordinators and community champions across seven plan categories and 32 subcategories. Jason Duba noted that the Imagine Dubuque plan is now nine years old and that the team uses AchieveIt to show progress: "the Imagine Dubuque plan is, 9 years old," he said, adding that some recommendations have shifted in status due to changing priorities or external mandates.
The presentation cited concrete examples of progress: updated planned-unit-development language and new retail activity at Kennedy Mall; educational programming at Wanderwood Gardens; and recent parks and recreation planning work. Staff also pointed to metrics captured in AchieveIt and said the communications office tracks website hits and can report site‑visit figures at a future meeting.
Mayor Kavanaugh thanked staff for the briefing and said the annual update is useful ahead of council goal-setting. Staff flagged near-term priorities including a request for proposals for a downtown master plan and an eventual full comprehensive plan update to reflect post‑pandemic changes and recent downtown projects.
Why this matters: Council members said the update helps connect resident input to concrete outcomes. Councilmember Resnick praised the public-engagement process that yielded roughly "6,000 people, 12,500 ideas," and several council members asked staff to bring more granular metrics and ongoing tracking notes for items currently rated 'off track.'
