2040 Comprehensive Plan

2040 Comprehensive Plan

Comprehensive Plan Update

Approximately every ten years many local units of government, including cities, counties, and townships undertake a future planning process that forecasts the future land use and growth patterns of the community. The City of Willmar will be updating its plan in the year 2020 as an update to the current Comprehensive Plan from 2009. The first comprehensive guide plan was adopted in 1961. The plan was revised in 1978 and again in 1989.

Comprehensive Plan General Timeline

December 2019 - May 2020: Data Collection & Creation of Engagement Goals
May 2020: Comp Plan Task Force Creation
June 2020 – April 2021: Public Engagement, Input & Continued Research
Summer 2021: Draft, Revise, and Submit final Comp Plan to Planning Commission & City Council

Current Comprehensive Plan

The primary purpose of the City of Willmar Comprehensive Plan is to provide a guide for growth and development. This Plan accomplishes this in two ways. First, this plan establishes the City’s Goals, Objectives, and Policy Guidelines. These describe how land-use decisions should be made on a day-to-day basis. Second, a future land use map is included in Chapter Six to show what type of land use is desirable both within the City’s current corporate boundary and inside the City’s urban growth area. The Plan is written using a 20-year time-frame, although the Plan will be implemented until it is either revised or ultimately replaced.

The following information is included in this Plan:

Community Profile - Chapter One provides a profile of Willmar, including sections on the City’s history, social-demographics, and future population estimates.

Natural Resources - Chapter Two introduces the natural resource base of the area. The Chapter includes sections on the area’s water resources, soils, and wellhead protection.

Current Land Use - Chapter Three examines Willmar’s existing land use, including sections on zoning, transportation, housing, and public facilities.

Planning Issues - Chapter Four identifies a number of key current and emerging planning issues facing the community.

Goals, Objectives, and Policy Guidelines - Chapter Five establishes the City’s Goals, Objectives, and Policy Guidelines, to be used by the City to help guide land-use decisions.

Implementation - Chapter Six contains specific implementation tools, including a Future Land Use Map and a temporary work plan.