The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) wrapped up its third public meeting input session in three days today for The Tomorrow Plan.

Leaders at the MPO, along with consultants from RDG Planning & Design and Massachusetts-based Sasaki Associates Inc., unveiled a baseline model of what the region could look like in 2050 if current zoning regulations and projected population growth remain the same, and took feedback from community members. The projections show that the region’s farmland could be cut in half due to suburban sprawl as more development happens to the west and south.

“I think, in general, people are concerned about the direction of growth that they see in the baseline model,” said James Miner, principal with Sasaki Associates.

“I’ve been trying to communicate as clearly as I can that this is not about (communities) competing for resources; it’s about growing the pot, and figuring out how the region as a whole can be more attractive for future economic development.”