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Planning and Zoning director outlines zoning updates, code changes and staffing needs
Summary
Toby Brown described implementation steps for Lincoln County’s new comprehensive plan, proposed zoning and code updates, notification rules and a staffing shortfall that leaves the department operating with four employees.
Toby Brown, director of Lincoln County Planning and Zoning, presented a department overview to the Board of Commissioners on March 11 and outlined priorities to implement the county’s new comprehensive plan.
Brown said the county adopted a new comprehensive plan for the unincorporated area on Dec. 24 and that implementing it will require updating the county’s zoning regulations and review procedures so decisions align with new policies. "The next step is to implement that comprehensive plan," Brown said, adding the first implementation task is updating the zoning regulations to make them consistent with the plan.
Brown summarized the department's current work and public-notice practices: staff-issued building and zoning permits are generally processed within five days, and the county notifies neighbors within 500 feet of rezoning petitions (and within 1 mile for large items such as wind towers), a practice Brown said goes beyond state minimums. "We notify within 500 feet of the property that's petitioned for those changes," he said.
He recommended transitioning to the 2021 International Building Code if the state allows adoption, and he suggested adopting a property maintenance code to streamline nuisance enforcement and provide an administrative appeal process instead of immediate court appeals.
Brown also described operational needs: the Planning and Zoning Department currently has four staff and is stretched thin amid growth and more-complex applications. He urged updating the county fee schedule (last changed in 2009) and said staff updated all application forms to one-page, fillable PDFs. He proposed a public "Planning and Zoning 101" session later in the spring to answer nonagenda questions from residents.
Commissioners asked about availability of commercial and industrial land, GIS integration and cross-jurisdictional consistency of development rules. Brown said the county lacks ready-to-build commercial/industrial parcels but the new comprehensive plan identifies areas for growth and conversion of ag land to commercial-industrial uses may be pursued through rezoning petitions.
Brown recommended that the county consider a capital improvement plan; he offered to coordinate development of a CIP tied to planned growth.
The presentation does not involve a board action; staff will return with code and fee proposals as specific items for future board consideration.
