1. Home
  2. Iowa Smart Planning

Iowa Smart Planning

The Iowa Smart Planning page includes information pertaining to smart planning in the State of Iowa. Throughout this section are reports, links and other related documents that provide context on Iowa Smart Planning. The sources provided here are mostly concentrated during the time frame between the passing of Senate File 2389 (Iowa Smart Planning Bill) in 2010 and the closing of the Rebuild Iowa Office in June 2011. Please navigate through the sections below to find further details on Iowa Smart Planning.   

Jump to:

Smart Planning Task Force Final Report

Click here to view the Iowa Smart Planning Task Force Report.

Smart Planning Draft Recommendations

For information on the Task Force's Draft Recommendations & Public Input Opportunities, click here.

Iowa Smart Planning Task Force

Established in SF 2389 in 2010, the Iowa Smart Planning Task Force is charged with making recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly regarding local and regional planning in Iowa.

Comprehensive Planning Grant Program

Click here for the Local Comprehensive Planning Grant Program guidelines and application. Applications were due Sept. 30, 2010.

Grant awards were announced on Nov. 19, 2010. You can view the press release issued by the RIO on November 22, as well as review a pdf listing of awards here. 

Smart Growth Partnership

The RIO is partnering with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other state and federal agencies for a Smart Growth Partnership to bring technical assistance to five Iowa communities devastated by the 2008 disasters.

Proposal on Smart Planning

Developed in the summer of 2009 prior to any legislative action, the RIO's Proposal on Smart Planning document outlines a possible framework for local, regional and statewide planning based on best practices from other states and lessons learned in academic research. It was intended to encourage dialogue concerning planning in Iowa and was used to gain input on priority components to include in the 2010 legislative proposal (SF 2389).

Other Smart Planning Documents

Iowa Smart Planning Legislative Guide.

SF 2389's Smart Planning Legislation sections.

This report outlines the federal government’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities progress over the last year. The Partnership compliments the Iowa’s Smart Planning initiative. Iowa has been involved with many of the Partnership’s activities to date, including:

  • Dubuque was one of the stops on the Sustainable Communities Tour in September 2009 (page 5)
  • Iowa City is noted as one of the Brownfields Pilots, which builds upon work completed through the Smart Growth Partnership (page 8)
  • The Partnership’s plans for the future outlines three major initiatives, each of which is connected to Iowa in some way (page 13):
    • The partnership with USDA-Rural Development is informed by the Smart Growth Partnership's work in Waverly.
    • The Memorandum of Understanding between EPA and FEMA is based on the successful Smart Growth Partnership, which built upon the long-term community recovery plans, reports, and strategies developed in six Iowa communities.
    • Numerous agencies and organizations in Iowa have been working throughout the summer and fall 2010 on a climate change adaptation pilot looking at ways to integrate climate change science and adaptation strategies within local planning processes.

Hazard Mitigation: Integrating Best Practices into Planning (prepared by the American Planning Association through support by FEMA)

Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities (prepared by the International City/County Management Association through support by the EPA)

Iowa Smart Planning informational brochure.

Iowa Smart Planning