‘I just wanted my voice to be heard’: City of Council Bluffs plans 2050 future with citizens’ input

Ever wonder what Council Bluffs will look like in 2050?

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‘I just wanted my voice to be heard’: Council Bluffs plans 2050 future with citizens’ input

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa —

Sunday night was the first community workshop for Elevate CB 2050, an initiative to get Council Bluffs citizens’ input on what they want to see in their city in 2050.

The City of Council Bluffs is putting together the 2050 Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Master Plan that will guide how the city grows in the next 25 years.

The city is in the discovery phase of the plan where they are gathering data and listening to what the community wants. They hope to have a plan developed and adopted by the Planning Commission in the spring of 2027.

“I just wanted my voice to be heard,” said Council Bluffs resident Alannah Haubrich. She said that she attended the workshop to voice her concerns about housing for people who are disabled and visually concerned.

Council Bluffs Planning and Zoning Director, Christopher Gibbons, said he was shocked by how big of a turnout they had Sunday night.

“What a great opportunity for the community as a whole to kind of come out and tell us, you know, hey, this is what we kind of think the future council should be,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons said they have been very intentional in having youth in the city participate in the planning process.

“This is not just a plan made by adults. So our project steering committee actually has two high schoolers on it,” Gibbons said.

Mayor Jill Shudak said they have gotten lots of big and bold ideas.

“We had another person talk about utilizing some county, Mosquito Creek, and building some manmade rapids and making the rafting. So we’re hearing all types of amazing ideas, and that’s really what we need to look at,” Shudak said.

If you didn’t attend Sunday’s workshop, there are still six more where you can go and write down your own ideas and concerns.

You can also share your thoughts in the survey using this link to the city’s website.

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