Logan County Planning and Zoning Committee discusses options for filling county zoning officer position

 

[January 11, 2022] 

One focus of discussion at the Logan County Board’s Planning and Zoning Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 5, was options for the recently vacated zoning officer position.

At the end of last month Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea resigned to take a job with the Army Corps of Engineers.

In a special meeting last month, discussion about filling the position included whether it could be part time or combined with another role.

One idea included having a part time person in the Logan County Assessor’s Office that could work on the Geographical Information System (GIS). Another idea included rolling zoning and economic development into a position. A third idea was that zoning might fit in with the facilities manager position the county is trying to fill.

At Wednesday’s Planning and Zoning Committee meeting, the options were further considered. Committee Chairman David Hepler said now may be a good time to modify or contemporize some of our practices. He reviewed the options previously discussed.

On Tuesday, the Building and Grounds Committee had talked about code enforcement possibly being done by a facilities manager. The zoning officer position could be part time. Hepler had advocated zoning being incorporated with an economic development position.

Much of the discussion focused on combining zoning and economic development into one position.

Committee member Annette Welch said she thought D’Andrea’s opinion was that zoning and economic development should not cross each other. One is more about the rules you need to follow if you choose to do a project. The other is more about enticing people to do business.

Therefore, Welch wondered if having one person do both zoning and economic development could be a conflict of interest. She said the role of an economic development person seems broader.

Doug Muck, who is trying to develop a quarry mining project, has had to have areas rezoned. Muck thinks the roles of economic development and zoning officers are consistent with one another.

When you look at a regional development plan, Muck said they make sure the zoning request is consistent with economic development. For instance, zoning looks to see that directives for growth in a county do not conflict with economic development. Muck said in zoning, they also help make sure there is orderly economic development. By way of example, manufacturing plants are not usually built next to housing developments because of noise issues.

Committee member David Blankenship agreed with Muck. Blankenship said combining economic development with zoning could streamline the position.

In addition, Blankenship said having a zoning officer with authority over inspections and permitting is not consistent. In cities where Blankenship has worked, he has seen cases where a permit should not have been issued. However, the zoning officer may not realize that. He thinks the process of inspections and permitting might be more in line with the role of facilities manager.

Initially, Leesman thought zoning and economic development should be separate. He wants to make sure people in the position would not do something in conflict with what they are trying to promote.

Now, Leesman said he sees congruent tasks in zoning and economic development. Combining it would be fine if the county can find someone who can do both. Leesman said the enforcement part would need separation to have checks and balances.
 

For the next several years, Hepler said county economic development will probably involve wind, solar and mining. Hepler said combining the roles could be helpful and help them focus on certain areas.

Board Chairman Emily Davenport liked the idea of streamlining zoning and economic development. She said the facilities manager could help “police” code enforcement. Davenport wants to figure out a plan soon.

This week there was an application for a zoning compliance certificate. For now, as board chairman, Davenport is the one authorized to sign it. However, Davenport said she is not an expert on zoning. She does not want to wait two or three months to figure out what the county is going to do.

For now, Davenport said there has been discussion about hiring a part time zoning officer. That person could answer emails and learn the county ordinances. Then there would be interaction when people are applying for permits. The zoning officer and facilities manager could even work together on code enforcement.

Having an advocate able to tell the county the potential it has and challenges it faces is something Blankenship likes. He said it gets bureaucracy out of the way.

Otherwise, it may seem like the county is saying we are the government; we are going to police small business. Blankenship said that is oppositional.

In the past, Blankenship said the county spent considerable money on economic development with questionable results. He would like to streamline the position and have someone who would report to the board monthly. To Blankenship, it would be a more efficient use of county money.

Even if the position is part time, Hepler said it would be helpful.

[Angela Reiners]