DUBUQUE COUNTY SMART PLAN
Community Character 1. Invest in existing places such as downtowns, infrastructure, neighborhoods, and places that the community values. 1.1. Prioritize funding for repair and maintenance of existing infrastructure before building new. 1.2. Encourage economic development in existing downtowns. 1.3. Rehabilitate existing buildings in a way that preserves their historic significance while meeting modern needs such as office space, retail, or apartments. 1.4. Encourage private sector investment by providing incentives for infill development. 2. Create great new places in areas that are designated for new development. 2.1. Identify designated growth areas that the community sees as best suited for new development. 2.2. Consider design guidelines that preserve distinctive local character in new development. 2.3. Consider polices that promote the development of compact, walkable, mixed-use places. 2.4. Plan for new parks and open spaces to serve new development. 2.5. Encourage developers to build great places by using smart growth and green building approaches. 3. Preserve the agricultural natural character of the region. 3.1. Develop land and economic development strategies that preserve working farms, natural landscapes, and scenic vistas that represent a community’s character. 3.2. Encourage land use policies and regulations that do not hamper family farm operations. 3.3. Promote rural products in urban areas through buy local campaigns and farmers’ markets. 4. Safeguard the cultural and historic resources of each community as critical to the quality of life and the attractiveness of the region. 4.1. Promote the preservation of historic buildings and architectural resources with emphasis in areas of greatest need. 4.2. Encourage educating the community about the benefits of historic preservation to quality of life, economic development efforts, tourism, and tax base enhancement. 4.3. Encourage exploration, preservation, and interpretation for present and future generations, the history of the region’s communities and the Mississippi River. 4.4. Promote increased appreciation, education, technical assistance, and funding to preserve historical, architectural, and archeological heritage. 4.5. Encourage the development of a marketing plan for the cultural and historic resources in the region. 4.6. Identify the location of existing historical and archeological in order to buffer nearby future development if necessary, to preserve the character of a site. 4.7. Consider development regulations that will protect significant undiscovered archaeological site, such as ancient burial mounds, from disruption.