2017 Spencer Comprehensive Land Use Plan

Spencer, Iowa  2017  Comprehensive Plan

C HAPTER R ESOURCES Physical features and the natural environment are essential elements in land use planning. These natural elements have largely been ignored in the past in determining future land use trends. An emphasis on environmentally sensitive areas and the availability of advanced information on geological structure and soils make it possible to place more emphasis on physical features and the natural environment related to land use planning decisions. Climate, location, geologic structure, topography, drainage, surface waters, watersheds, and soils each uniquely affect the types of land uses best suited for a tract or parcel of land. Some of these factors such as topography, drainage or soil types weigh heavily when determining acceptable land uses for an area. The purpose of this section is to determine those limiting factors as they relate to Spencer, so adequate consideration may be given when determining future land uses in a specific area of the community. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION Spencer is situated in the north central portion of Clay County. Clay County, located in northwestern Iowa, is found in the second tier of counties south of the Minnesota border and within the third tier of counties east of the South Dakota border. The City of Spencer is 11.18 square miles in size or approximately 7,155 acres. Clay County is bordered by Osceola County to the northwest, Dickinson County to the north, Emmet County to the northeast, Palo Alto County to the east, Pocahontas County to the southeast, Buena Vista County to the south, Cherokee County to the southwest and O’Brien County to the west. 4 . P HYSICAL F EATURES & N ATURAL

The nearest city of 10,000 + population is Storm Lake, IA (pop. 10,600) – 38 miles S The nearest city of 50,000 + population is Sioux City, IA (pop. 82,684) – 97 miles SW The nearest city of 200,000 + population is Omaha, NE (434,353) – 161 miles SW The nearest city of 1,000,000 + population is Chicago, IL (2,722,389) – 492 miles SE

City of Spencer

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NW Iowa Planning & Development