Boundary County Planning and Zoning Commission

MINUTES

March 15, 2007

 

Members present: Tom Hollingsworth, Jake Negley, Rod Barcklay, Doug Reoch, Henry McMahon, John Kellogg, Barry Davis, Bruce Behrman. Member absent: Toby Schnuerle. Staff present: Mike Weland.

 

  1. Hollingsworth opened the meeting and called for reading of the January minutes. Reoch moved to waive reading and approve as mailed, Negley seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
  2. Hollingsworth opened public hearing on application 07-076. Because no member of the public was in attendance with the exception of the applicants, Hollingsworth waived reading of the procedure, with approval from the applicants, and called for an opening statement. Margaret Huggins explained that their intent was to amend the zoning of a portion of their property lying between Stockdale Steel and Amer-Can Industrial from residential to rural community/commercial, to all placement of a triple-wide modular to be used to expand her existing day care business, which she stated has been operating in her home for 18 years. She stated that because of the number of businesses located in that area, she had always assumed the area was already zoned for commercial use. There was no staff report nor any public comment. Hollingsworth closed the hearing to public testimony and called for discussion. Barcklay stated that he has never liked zoning individual parcels, but said that he agrees that this a unique instance. Hollingsworth said that in his view this was a circumstance where the application truly fit, and such amendment would benefit both the applicant and the economy. He stated that most people believe that area is already zoned commercial due to the number of businesses. Discussion was held regarding the boundaries of the actual area to be rezoned, and Margaret and L.D. Huggins both stated that the dimensions in site sketch represented  the portion they intended. Staff recommended that if the motion was to approve, the condition be included that the exact area be defined by legal description or record of survey to allow accurate mapping, and the applicants concurred. There being no further discussion, Hollingsworth called for a motion. Member John Kellogg moved to forward to county commissioners a recommendation that the application be approved as presented. Barcklay seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
  3. On unscheduled business, Hollingsworth called for discussion on a recommendation that Schnuerle be removed for excessive absences. Staff reviewed past minutes and determined that Schnuerle had not attended a meeting since September, making a total of five consecutive absences. Hollingsworth pointed out the importance of  meeting attendance, saying that having to inform a room of people that a meeting had to be adjourned due to lack of quorum made him cringe. Following discussion, McMahon made motion to recommend to county commissioners that member Toby Schnuerle be removed for having missed five consecutive meetings in violation of Chapter 3, Section 1F, Boundary County Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance. Kellogg seconded and the motion carried with five members voting aye, two voting nay.
  4. Discussion was held regarding progress on the comprehensive plan. Concerns were cited regarding the proposed elimination of the aquifer portion of the natural resources component, with members reaching general agreement that this data had been well-researched and was important to the overall plan. Staff stated that no consensus had yet been reached and that the section was marked for further discussion. Staff advised members of the upcoming workshop schedule and informed them that it was still to early to predict when the plan would go to public hearing.
  5. There being no further business, Barcklay made motion to adjourn, Kellogg seconded and the motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.