SPENCER — A comprehensive plan that would provide a blueprint for land use in Owen County will come before the county commissioners tonight.

The board began the movement toward reinstating county planning a year ago, working to create a general document that would help guide development at the edges of Spencer and land use in the White River Valley.

A previous board of commissioners had established a similar ordinance in the mid-1990s, but after an overwhelming wave of public opposition the ordinance was repealed.

In June, a county plan commission was created to address the issue. That group has now approved a proposal and referred it on to the commissioners for a hearing tonight.

A final vote could be taken tonight, said commissioner Byron Stockwell.

The proposed plan lays out objectives for the future development of the county, and calls for preserving its rural nature, safeguarding the environment, logging the area responsibly and promoting infill development, Stockwell said.

The plan is split into policies that address residential areas, commercial and industrial areas, agricultural areas, recreational land and public places and utilities.

"I think it's a pretty simple plan," Stockwell said. "We're not trying to be like Monroe County, which lots of people have brought up to me. We're trying to do a program that is good for one county. And that's not going to happen overnight."

The main opposition to the plan comes from a group called Protect Our Property, or POP, and some have questioned whether a zoning ordinance would be enacted to enforce the plan.

Such an ordinance has been described as a possibility, but not a certainty.

As for other groups that oppose the plan, Michael Bonnell, attorney for the commissioners said, it seems to have attracted the attention of loggers.

"Other than (Libertarian) Jim Baughn, all of the opposition is from the loggers. The loggers are up in arms," he said. Baughn is the organizer of the POP group.

Stockwell agreed, saying most seem concerned about how the proposed plan could be interpreted.

Bonnell explained the plan contains language that calls for promoting "sound logging practices" within the county.

The commissioners will meet at 7 p.m. in the commissioners room on the second floor of the Owen County Courthouse.