Newspaper Page Text
May 24, 2023 t R^QTteT Page 3A
Zoning board urges county to drop 300-page plan
ly Will Davis The zoning board had since there was no way they “Wow,” Emami told the members of the zoning 300-page proposal together
>ublisher@my mcr.net found a bunch of troubling could see a final version at Reporter.“Interesting.” board, and now they’ll one more time on Sunday,
parts to the 318-page ordi- Monday’s meeting, they Commissioners appoint apparently go back over the June 4.
Monroe County's zoning nance at its April meeting. dropped the proposal from
By Will Davis
publisher™ my mcr.net
Monroe Countys zoning
board voted 3-1 on Mon
day to recommend that
commissioners reject a
300-page new zoning
ordinance they’ve spent
$40,000 and two years
working on.
“I’ve listened to people
around the county’ said
board member Chad Tyler.
“And it goes back to 300
pages.”
But after the rebuke,
commissioner George
Emami told the Reporter
the next day, on Tuesday,
that commissioners have
scheduled a joint meeting
with the zoning board from
2-6 p.m. on Sunday, June 4
to try to salvage the giant
proposal.
“I think enough are
committed to making it
match the overall desire of
the community that we will
be able to come together on
what works,” said Emami.
Tyler had said just as
couples sometimes renew
their vows, maybe the
county should renew its
commitment to the zoning
ordinance it’s had for the
past 30 years, and make it
better.
“Let’s get back to basics,”
said Tyler. Tyler said if
commissioners have prob
lems with the current ordi
nance they should tweak it,
rather than ditching it for a
massive new ordinance that
is very hard to read.
Board member Chuck
Benson agreed.
“It’s time to step back and
take a look at what were re
ally doing,” said Benson. “I
feel like we need to look at
our current ordinance and
see what was wrong with it
and make corrections.”
Board member Red
Ezelle also endorsed the
plan to scrap the massive
proposal.
“I know we spent a lot of
time on it,” said Ezelle. “But
I started reading through
it and it’s so cumbersome.
You wonder, does this real
ly adhere to what we need
to get done? I’m with Chad.
I think we ought to back up
and tweak what’s wrong in
our ordinance, instead of
adopting a 318-page ordi
nance that takes a month
from Sunday to read.”
Only board chairman Jim
Rollins voted against ditch
ing the zoning proposal.
He said the county needs
to be prepared as Bibb
County continues to grow
toward Monroe County.
“Growth is a natural
part of our being,” said
Rollins. “We have to plan
for it. I would like not to
read through it (300-page
proposal) again. But some
changes need to be made.”
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The zoning board had
found a bunch of troubling
parts to the 318-page ordi
nance at its April meeting.
Among those the proposal
banned vinyl siding homes,
required windows and
shutters, and even required
subdivisions with HO As
and more than 25 homes
to have giant playgrounds.
It also would have forced
strict new hours on out
door gun ranges like The
Meadows in Smarr, one of
the county’s biggest tourist
attractions. County officials
seemed not to realize many
of those things were in
the ordinance. The zoning
board therefore suggested
changes and asked com
missioners to give the zon
ing board another chance
to review the proposal
before giving final approv
al and sending it back to
commissioners.
But at Monday’s meet
ing, Tyler said as late as
11 a.m. on Monday, the
zoning board learned that
commissioners were still
making changes to the
giant proposal, this time
related to its regulations
on townhomes. Tyler said
since there was no way they
could see a final version at
Monday’s meeting, they
dropped the proposal from
their agenda. He said he
hoped commissioners
would keep their word and
let the zoning board have
another say. He said he
was uncomfortable taking
any action on a proposal
when they couldn’t read the
entire document. Finally,
said Tyler, he concluded
the county should drop the
big, unwieldy document
and focus on modifying the
current zoning ordinance,
which is 70 pages, plus the
current 40-page subdivi
sion ordinance.
Tyler conceded that com
missioners didn’t have to
listen to their zoning board.
But he said it is the con
sensus of the zoning board.
They voted 3-1 to approve
Tyler’s motion to recom
mend the county ditch the
giant proposal.
Told of the zoning board’s
recommendation on Mon
day, commissioner George
Emami, who has spear
headed the 2-year push for
a new zoning ordinance,
seemed stunned.
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