The Seward County Planning Commission subcommittee’s delay in addressing a livestock conditional use moratorium and the July start of a state “shot clock” for counties to take action on requests for use permits have Seward County commissioners looking at ways to better prepare planning commissioners for the volunteer role.
“To say that I am frustrated is an understatement,” County Board of Commissioners Chair Misty Ahmic told the board of commissioners on April 21 after attending the planning commission meeting on April 20.
At that meeting, the planning commission voted for a subcommittee request to seek another two months to resolve the questions for which a six-month moratorium on conditional use permits on livestock operations was enacted last August. The moratorium was also extended in February.
Ahmic noted that County Attorney Wendy Elston had presented a training session for the planning commission a few months ago covering procedures and open meetings law.
“They just sort of forgot everything,” Ahmic said. “They are struggling to make decisions. They are struggling to make motions. They are not prepared when they come to meetings.”
Ahmic also expressed disappointment that none of the planning commissioners attended a public open house to share information about the county’s revised zoning regulations that had been scheduled just before their April meeting. Ahmic was the only member of the county board to attend with zoning staff and the consultant who worked with the regulations.
At the April 27 Seward County Board of Commissioners meeting Ahmic clarified that she was not pointing at all members and said planning commission members held a “thankless job.”
Preparation,
training topics
Ahmic asked Planning Commission Chair Dale Niemann and Seward County Planning and Zoning Administrator Marissa Pfile to attend the April 27 board of commissioners meeting to talk about the situation.
Both Ahmic and Pfile said Niemann does a great job running meetings. He did not attend the April 20 planning and zoning meeting due to family commitments.
At the April 27 commissioners meeting, Pfile listed issues from recent planning meetings, including members having side conversations during meetings, lack of preparation, subcommittees not meeting, lack of familiarity with regulations, inaccurate information about public hearing schedules and discussing topics not on the agenda.
County Commissioner Scott Pekarek, who, like Ahmic, served on the planning commission before running for the county board, attends the planning commission meetings regularly as its board liaison.
“I do believe the amount of preparation work that the members do or do not do really makes a difference in how the meeting runs,” Pekarek said at the April 27 county commissioners meeting.
“It is a volunteer board,” he said. “We rely on people to have the passion for what they are doing.”
He also noted that zoning board members are not expected to know all regulations in that sizeable document. But he said they should be using the document as a resource.
Ahmic said the county has unused funds budgeted for training offered by the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) and other organizations.
Niemann agreed that additional training would be helpful for commissioners.
Ahmic said she would like to see “someone come in an hour before the commission meeting and running through procedures and decision making for six months.”
Commissioner Darrell Zabrocki also mentioned the option of having commission members visit other planning commission meetings in Seward or Lancaster County.
Deputy County Attorney Barbara Armstead, who works with the county board, suggested a rotating schedule of presentations from her office and from the consultant who has reformatted the zoning regulations that are now in the review and approval process.
Pekarek suggested a longer quarterly training session or retreat for the board.
New law requires ‘amp up’
By chance, Elaine Menzel from NACO was on the county board’s agenda April 21 when Ahmic first brought her concerns to the county board, and referenced Ahmic’s comments as she spoke to the training issue.
She said NACO had included a forum on zoning issues at a workshop for county board members that included best practices for zoning moratoriums
Recently passed legislation, LB663, put into place a “shot clock” starting in July for planning commissions and boards to respond to related requests for zoning or conditional use permits, so the county’s concerns for training are timely, Menzel said.
Ahmic said on April 27 that the implementation of LB663 will require the county to “amp up” its zoning education efforts.
LB663 targets
zoning process
When Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB663 into law, he said the measure would create a “uniform, transparent and expedited process for the application, review and approval of conditional use and special exemption permit applications.”
The bill mandates educational hours for certain county officials, including planning commissions and county attorneys, limits consideration of conditional use permits or special exemptions to county zoning regulations, and establishes a timeline for the county boards to act on permit applications.
The law gives counties 30 days to determine whether an application is complete and 10 days to notify the applicant of that determination. They then have 90 days to approve or deny an application. If no decision is made, the application is automatically approved.
Should new information come to light after that 90-day period, the county can seek a new application, which would restart the 90-day clock.
Seward County Planning and Zoning Commission members are appointed by the board of commissioners and make recommendations to the board for zoning and permit actions.
The nine-member commission regularly addresses requests for conditional uses and other permits when a property owner wants to use their land for purposes they are not zoned for or which require conditional use permits. Those include livestock feeding operations and some kinds of businesses.
