Planning and Zoning

MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING PLANNING COMMISSION/ BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS December 20, 2011 Commissioners Present: McLean, Smith, Wrischnik, Pfefferkorn Commissioners Absent: Cowman, Peterson, Hardwick Others Present: Mike Gotfredson, Amy Barenklau, Brian McCauley Item 1: Pledge of Allegiance Item 2: Consider minutes from the November 29, 2011 meeting. Vice-Chair McLean called the meeting to order. The first order of business was the consideration of the minutes from the November 29, 2011 meeting. Commissioners Smith and Pfefferkorn made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted, with all Commissioners voting in favor. Item 3: Discussion regarding proposed amendments to the Miami County Comprehensive Plan. Planner Gotfredson gave an overview of the proposed changes and stated that most of the proposed amendments are minor, and are mainly due to the dissolution of the Community Growth Areas. Miami County will be involved in a more comprehensive update in the future. Commissioner McLean stated that Miami County is still formulating what needs to be changed, as they are overwhelmed at the amount of details that are not yet resolved. He said he feels this is an opportunity for them to see if they have missed any items as it will allow some time for those to be found before a more comprehensive update. He said an example is animals on land; they currently have no requirements for minimum property to house animals. Janet McRae is working to get information to the County Planning Board on where services are available to understand better where potential development could occur. Commissioner Pfefferkorn inquired about any potential concerns for the City of Paola in the new areas of communication? For instance environmental impacts from a large scale hog producer, chicken farm, or similar agricultural use that might impact residential properties. If not addressed by Miami County, should Paola consider addressing to protect citizens so that zoning is more responsive to needs instead of relying on a Comprehensive Plan? Paola Planning Commission Minutes December 20, 2011 1 Planner Gotfredson explained that there are legal avenues if uses are detrimental to the City or residents, but indicated he would pass along concerns and thoughts. Commissioner Smith stated he did not see a lot of benefit in establishing specific boundaries for areas of significance at this time. There was some additional discussion among Commissioners in regards to establishing specific boundaries, but all felt that it was not necessary at this time. Item 4: City Planner Report and Items from Commissioners Planner Gotfredson reviewed building permits for 2011 and compared to 2010 for Commissioners. He also stated that the City’s website has recently been updated. There were no items from the Commissioners at this time. Item 5: Adjournment Commissioners McLean and Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting. All Commissioners voted in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 5:41 pm. Paola Planning Commission Minutes December 20, 2011 2