Bannock County holds procedural public hearing on Pocatello area of city impact; no policy changes

Bannock County commissioners conducted a public hearing on the City of Pocatellos area of city impact (ACI) during a county meeting. County planning staff described the ACI as a planning tool required by state statute, said it does not change taxation or zoning, and emphasized the hearing was procedural.

Hal Jensen, planning director for Bannock County, told residents the ACI is required by state law and helps the county and cities plan for how a city may potentially grow into county territory. "An area of city impact is a planning tool that is required by state statute of a county and, all of the small cities and large cities that exist within a county boundaries to come to an agreement of how a city may potentially grow into the county," Jensen said. He added, "It does not change taxation. It does not change zoning. You are still in the county and you still function under our jurisdiction for our zoning." Jensen also said the county must have the new ACIs in place prior to the end of 2025.

Residents used the hearing to ask whether inclusion in the ACI means they will be annexed into the city and whether services such as municipal water and sewer would be required. Nikki Johnson asked, "Does that mean we will eventually be annexed in? Isn't that what that means?" Jensen and other staff repeatedly said annexation is a separate legal process and cannot be predicted by the ACI alone. "The annexation hearing is a completely different process than the area of city impact," a county official said during the meeting.

Tiffany Diller, who said she lives on Buckskin Road in an area where new development is proposed, asked about notice and the ability to opt out: "When did I get put in the ACI when I missed all these other meetings and didn't get notified? Is there a way I can get myself out of it?" Jensen responded that residents may not opt out: "No. You're not allowed to to opt out of the ACI. It is a planning tool, planning tool only." Jensen explained that if growth and services reach an area, developers or the city may extend water or sewer and, at that point, annexation could occur through its own separate process.

Other residents raised related concerns. A resident noted examples of people annexed near Millward Mile who later faced higher water costs; Jensen said most changes tied to development are driven by new growth and services and that state policy encourages reduced reliance on wells and septic where municipal services become available. Kathy Rogers said she had tried to use the county website to understand the ACI and "couldn't make heads or tails of what it said," prompting staff to offer one-on-one meetings at the county office at 5500 South Fifth to review maps and the statute.

The hearing was opened and closed by motion; commissioners called for the vote verbally and recorded aye votes. The public hearing itself was procedural: no annexation, zoning changes or tax changes were adopted during the meeting. County staff directed residents seeking more detail to county planning staff and to in-person review of maps and statutory requirements.

The county recorded that it must complete renegotiation and notification of ACIs this year; beyond that procedural requirement, future annexation or service extension decisions would follow separate legal and administrative processes, if and when they occur.