CITY COORDINATES PLAN FOR `URBAN AREA'

In an effort to better plan for growth in the Cape Girardeau area, the city will study ways to develop a comprehensive plan for the "Greater Cape Girardeau Urban Area."

That area includes the cities of Jackson, Scott City and Cape Girardeau and unincorporated areas of Cape Girardeau and north Scott County.

The Cape Girardeau City Council Monday approved a resolution authorizing the study, and now city officials here will discuss the proposal with other area officials.

Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink said an "urban area" study would complement similar local planning efforts in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and Scott City and Cape Girardeau and Scott counties.

"It's a way of coordinating cities' and counties' comprehensive planning efforts that have already taken place," Stoverink said.

"This is very preliminary thinking and we certainly haven't established any parameters of what the study-area boundaries might be. But we feel like it's an effort that's important.

"Future planning for growth within this area needs to be well thought out and coordinated between the various cities and county government agencies."

Stoverink said the study would include land-use and infrastructure planning. He said the urban area study would be a practical way to link several recent developments, which include:

Completion of a four-lane Route 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

20Planning for a new Mississippi River bridge and Highway 74 bridge route through southern Cape Girardeau.

Adoption this year of 20-year major street and sewer master plans that include infrastructure projects tied in with Jackson.

The fact that the Municipal Airport and Nash Road industrial tract both serve a large area in north Scott County and southern Cape Girardeau County. Stoverink said a coordinated effort is required to assure water system improvements in the Scott City industrial park and at the Cape Girardeau airport.

The continued growth of unincorporated areas of both counties, along with the need for services to those areas.

Final adjustments are being made to Cape Girardeau County zoning maps.

Completion of comprehensive city plans in both Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

"All these factors were things that led us to the conclusion that we're really now dealing with a greater urban area than just the city limits of Cape Girardeau," Stoverink said.

"We felt we needed to have a comprehensive plan for the area as a whole."

Stoverink said the comprehensive study also is needed to correct some of the misconceptions people in the area have concerning Cape Girardeau's growth.

According to 1990 census figures, the city's population grew only slightly during the past decade, from 34,161 to 34,438.

"People tend to focus on just the population aspect of growth," Stoverink said. "But there's really a lot more to it than that."

The assistant city manager said that more significant than the growth in a particular city's boundaries is the growth of the area included around the city. He said that's particularly true now, when annexation no longer is seen as a simple formula for growth.

"If you look at our major street and master sewer plans, we have these improvements planned for well outside our existing city limits, and annexation, of course, is not the simple solution that it once was," Stoverink said.

"We feel like some new initiative needs to take place that involves a coordinated effort for managing growth for the whole area."

Stoverink said he hopes one of the outcomes of an on-going coordinated planning effort is that "cities will not race to the courthouse steps or ballot box for annexation solutions" to growth concerns.

He said the study could also have an impact on whether the area is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a "Metropolitan Statistical Area."

Stoverink said such a designation would have "important marketing aspects" for economic development efforts here.

Judy Moss, director of economic development for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, said the U.S. Census Bureau gives the designation to urban areas that meet primarily four criteria.

The area can include two counties that have a population of at least 100,000; the nucleus cities in the area, which in this case would include Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City, must have contiguous boundaries; the population of the nucleus must be at least 50,000; and the nucleus' population density must be at least 1,000 people per square mile.

Moss said population density is the only criterion that the Cape Girardeau metropolitan area might not meet.

"If they don't include the county park and some of those types of areas, we'll make it," she said. "And I don't think they're including those, but we'll just have to wait and see."

Moss said the designation would have economic benefits that include increased federal funds for the area. Also, the designation would serve as an added incentive for industry to locate here.

"The Metropolitan Statistical Area would be red-lined on a map," she said. "The designation would be there, and that can only help economic development."

Stoverink said the city's Division of Planning Services will determine the scope of work needed and a strategy to develop the urban area comprehensive plan. But, he added, the work will require cooperation among various cities and county agencies, including the area's two regional planning commissions.

He said no meetings with the other governmental agencies have yet been scheduled.

"It's a very preliminary idea and we wanted to make sure, before we undertook a lot of effort, that our City Council felt it was a direction our city should be going," Stoverink said.

"The next step will be to try to put a little more detail into what we think such a study should consist of and how it could be approached. Once we have that, we have something we can take to each of the other groups."