Zoning part of planning for the future

To zone or not to zone appears to be the question of the day.

It was exciting to learn that so many people attended Tuesday night’s Land Planning public hearing on the Land Plan for the county. It’s unfortunate, however, that many of those people waited until near the end of the process to become involved, and many are apparently still uninformed.

A letter by the Farm Bureau Federation encouraged members to attend the meeting because zoning would take away individual rights, hurt land value and increase bureaucracy. Many counties have zoning in the county, including Albany County and it has not hurt property values

A look at the Albany County Web site and the planning department shows an active department, a Planning and Zoning Committee, just like Big Horn County, but there is also a Zoning Advisory Committee. And they have an 88-page Zoning Resolution first adopted in 1997, and revised eight times, most recently this March.

On the second page, it states the purpose of the zoning resolution is “Pursuant to W.S. § 18-5-201, … is to promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the county.”

The state statute, 18-5-201 states, “To promote the public health, safety, morals and general welfare of the county, each board of county commissioners may regulate and restrict the location and use of buildings and structures and the use, condition of use or occupancy of lands for residence, recreation, agriculture, industry, commerce, public use and other purposes in the unincorporated area of the county. However, nothing in W.S. 18-5-201 through 18-5-207 shall be construed to contravene any zoning authority of any incorporated city or town and no zoning resolution or plan shall prevent any use or occupancy reasonably necessary to the extraction or production of the mineral resources in or under any lands subject thereto.”

This is all Big Horn County is attempting to do. Make sure that construction out in the county is in the best interest of the county in regard to public health, safety, morals and general welfare.

A comprehensive or land plan for any community or county is a good thing. And like all plans, they are guiding documents and “living documents” meaning they can be changed. Six of Albany County’s eight revisions to its zoning resolution have come in the past two years.

A land plan is a starting point, giving the county guidance as it prepares for the future and zoning needs to be a part of guidance. The 138-page plan specifically states that “The land use plan is not a law or regulation but instead is a set of guidelines. Counties may adopt land use regulations (such as zoning and subdivision controls) in order to implement the plan. But the plan itself is not regulatory.” It further states that, “The Future Land Use Map and definitions are not the same as zoning.  Zoning addresses similar topics, such as the density of housing and what land uses are appropriate for different areas of the county. However, zoning is a law or regulation that directly controls land use while the Future Land Use Map is only a general recommendation or guideline and is not regulatory.”

The county’s plan includes only sample zoning maps. It will be up to the commissioners to set those zoning regulations.

We support individual property rights but do not feel that zoning infringes upon those rights. A zone by definition is an area of land having a particular characteristic, purpose or use, or subject to particular restrictions. Big Horn County has the most junkyard licenses of any county in Wyoming. Without zoning and other rules and regulations, the county could become one large junkyard. That’s not what we want.

If you oppose a proposed zone in your area, then comment on that and work for an appropriate zone, but opposing all zoning is not in the best interest of the county.

There will be more opportunity for public involvement as the plan must go before the county commissioners and the commissioners can opt for an additional public hearing. After Tuesday’s meeting, the county planners and consultants may opt for additional meetings as well.

We hope people stay involved, but most of all stay well informed, not just opinions, but facts.

Big Horn County’s land use plan can be found on the Web at www.mmiplanning.com/bhc09/bhc09.htm.

---Karla Pomeroy