City plan to be updated

It’s been more than two decades since the City of Holton last updated its comprehensive land use plan, and Holton City Manager Teresa Riley believes it’s past time for an update.

On Monday, the Holton City Commission authorized Riley to solicit proposals for an update of the city’s comprehensive land use plan, last updated in 2001.

“I think the plan as a whole needs updating,” Riley said after the commission’s regular meeting that night. “Some things have been accomplished, but we should look at everything with fresh eyes and determine whether those plans were realistic or not.”

A comprehensive land use plan, by definition, is a policy document that guides the development and implementation of zoning and subdivision regulations, location and classification of streets, public facilities, parks and open spaces, and housing and economic development programs. Its chief purpose is to help city officials analyze and evaluate the community’s future growth.

The city’s first comprehensive plan was put together in 1963, and it was followed by updates in 1985 and 1991. The most recent update was prepared by planner Tom Phillips of the Phillips and Associates Community Planning and Development Consultants firm of Manhattan, who was originally hired by the city in 1998 to revamp the 1991 plan update.

The 2001 update was written to guide the city’s growth through 2020, Riley noted, with suggestions that the city annex more land north of the city — all the way to 246th Road — and a projection that the city’s population would grow to about 4,500.

One example of the former involves land where Holton Community Hospital and the Holton Industrial Park are located are, which are considered noncontiguous or “island” annexations. Riley said annexing the land in between that area and the city is an unlikely choice for annexation, since it includes Elk Creek and is “prone to flooding.”

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