Comprehensive Plan

A comprehensive plan is a document that provides direction in making land use, development and other long-range planning decisions in the county.

The updated 2040 Comprehensive Plan began with a civic engagement process, in which all community members were encouraged to participate, helped develop a shared vision of the county's future. This vision laid the groundwork for a plan with broad goals, policies and action plans that will guide planning decisions in the future. 

The Comprehensive Plan contains components relating to economic development; land use; agricultural and natural resource preservation; transportation; housing and livable community design; parks, recreation and open space and sustainability. It also includes implementation strategies in the form of goals and objectives to achieve the collaborative vision of the county’s future, and serves as a guide for development decisions over the next 10 to 20 years.

After numerous meetings and methods of gathering input, the updated Rice County Comprehensive Plan (below) was adopted on Oct. 22, 2021. In addition, the Fundamental Inventory Guide, contains extensive background data and information used in the development of the plan.

Full 2040 Preliminary Comprehensive Plan (adopted 10-12-21)

• Chapter 1. Introduction
• Chapter 2. Economic Development
• Chapter 3. Land Use
• Chapter 4. Transportation
• Chapter 5. Housing and Livable Communities
• Chapter 6. Parks, Recreation and Open Space
• Chapter 7. Sustainability
• Chapter 8. Implementation

• Appendix A: Fundamental Inventory Guide 
• Appendix B: Public Forum Summary
• Appendix C: Community Survey & Results 
• Appendix D: 2025 Rice County Transportation Plan (May 9, 2006) 
• Appendix E: Comprehensive Housing Study
• Appendix F: Le Sueur & Rice Active Living Profile 
• Appendix G: Rice County Parks, Recreation & Open Space 2011-21