Area leaders gathered Wednesday night to take stock in the Tomorrow Plan a year after the comprehensive planning effort finished its initial report.

Plenty has happened since, and there was plenty to applaud at the meeting.

The evening brought the release of Housing Tomorrow, an effort to encourage better and more widespread affordable housing in Central Iowa. Achieving that goal will mean some significant changes in zoning and development plans, especially in the suburbs, said Eric Burmeister, executive director of the Polk County Housing Trust Fund, which led the effort to compile the report.

Housing Tomorrow is based on six principles:

–The area will need a variety of housing choices for a population that will gain diversity. That means changing in zoning laws and the cost of subdivision regulations should be considered.

–The region will preserve, maintain, and improve housing by connecting property owners with resources for home repairs. Local governments should also prevent the displacement of residents in changing neighborhoods, the report said.

–Leaders in the region will make strategic decisions on the location of new housing, attempting to spread affordable housing through the area in places that are close to jobs, transit and services.

–The impact of housing on community health and prosperity will be addressed collaboratively.

–New resources will be identified for housing, and existing resources will be used responsibly. That means reducing cost barriers to development of affordable housing and creating regional funding sources.

–A dynamic dialogue on housing will be fostered, with a marketing campaign that advocates for better housing and efforts to engage people who are affected by housing issues.

See the full report