CR Planning

Jean Coleman, CR Planning, managed a planning process to develop a comprehensive land use management plan for Itasca County, a 1.2 million acre county of 40,000 people in northern Minnesota. The two-year process, intensive in public participation, resulted in the adoption of the County’s first comprehensive plan. Issues facing Itasca County included:

• the conversion of summer homes into permanent residences
• the impact of lakeshore development on water quality
• competing interests in forest resources between the timber/paper industry and the recreation-based industry
• the large amount of land controlled by the State and Federal governments
• the physical and economic impacts of iron mining
• the need for safe, affordable housing

CR Planning principals used a community-based process guided by a Steering Committee with members representing geographic areas in the County, local governments, interest groups, and industry. A series of background studies and GIS maps developed by our project partner, URS, Inc., were presented in the first phase of the project. The final plan was adopted by the Itasca County Board in May 2000.

Following Plan adoption, the County engaged CR Planning to facilitate a stakeholder-driven rewrite of its zoning ordinance. The update includes ordinance provisions for:

• agricultural and forestry practice protection
• urban growth boundaries
• heavy mining district
• seasonal cabin use standards
• shoreland protection
• rural commercial node standards

CR Planning is also working with the Itasca SWCD and two lake associations to develop watershed-based carrying-capacity zoning.

View Itasca County Comprehensive Plan.