Hampshire County begins first reading, OKs outside legal review of planning commission ordinance

Hampshire County commissioners on May 13 opened a first reading of proposed revisions to the county planning commission ordinance and authorized outside legal counsel to review the document before final adoption.

The planning commission had voted to approve the proposed ordinance language and asked the county commission to consider it and, if desired, have outside counsel review it. “They voted that they approved the current ordinance, but you are requesting that we have outside legal counsel just check it over one more time,” the clerk summarized.

Why this matters: the ordinance governs rules for the planning commission itself — procedural rules for review, hearings and administration — and not specific building-code changes. Commissioners said a legal review could catch technical problems but cautioned that substantive edits after review would require reposting and restarting the hearing process.

During discussion, President Eglanger and Commissioner Bridal both expressed support for sending the draft to counsel and for proceeding with a first reading and public posting concurrently. The commission amended an earlier motion to name a specific attorney — Richard Gay of Morgan County — to perform the review; the amendment passed.

Action taken: the commission approved starting the first reading and directed that outside counsel (Richard Gay) be engaged for review. The clerk and planning officer will make the current draft available to the public at the courthouse and on the county website while counsel performs the review. If counsel recommends changes, the commission acknowledged it will need to repost the ordinance and continue the hearing process.