St. Cloud Sun

A public hearing is scheduled for later this month to discuss a comprehensive plan for Stearns County that focuses on the county's land uses and community projects up until 2040, a Stearns County news release states.

The hearing is scheduled for July 28 and during that meeting, a draft plan will be presented for adoption by the County Board of Commissioners. The county wants comments on the draft plan to be submitted before the meeting either via the county's website or via e-mail.

County staff have been working on the plan for the last year and a half with stakeholders, the public and community leaders. The county wants greater flexibility when it comes to interpreting land uses, as well as establishing new policies on important areas they want to focus on throughout the community, the news release states.

The comprehensive plan can be viewed on the project's website, which also includes interactive web pages that involve the five pillars of the plan: Living, agriculture, business, connectivity and nature, the news release states.