Bourbon County advisory board schedules public forums, outlines zoning talking points

Members of the Bourbon County Zoning Advisory Board set dates for public forums and agreed on a one-page handout and talking points intended to explain zoning, gather public input and forward findings to the County Commission.

The advisory board voted to hold follow-up meetings on May 22 and May 29 at 6 p.m. and to run the public forums in Uniontown, Fulton and Fort Scott as regular, open meetings so they can be properly noticed and minutes recorded. The board also agreed on a three-minute time limit for individual speakers and a target forum length of about 90 minutes to two hours.

Board members emphasized that the packet and the brief presentation are designed to explain zoning’s function — "planning on where things go" — not to regulate normal personal uses of property. "Zoning isn't telling people what to do on their personal property for personal use," Advisory board member Speaker 2 said during the meeting, adding that the advisory group's role is to develop recommendations for the County Commission, which will make any legal decision.

Speakers on the advisory board urged clarity in messaging for the public and said the group will collect written comments, email submissions if the county can provide an address, and on-site notes from the forums to include in their advisory report. The board discussed a widely circulated text urging residents to “stand with us against these terrible regulations,” and urged attendees to attend forums to hear proposals directly rather than relying on social media posts.

Advisory members discussed data on land ownership the board plans to cite in outreach materials. One member summarized figures from Kansas State’s agmanager.info, saying 15.6% of agricultural land in Bourbon County is owned out of state and that, after additional calculation, about 25.32% is owned outside the county. The board said it will include the K-State source in materials and circulate the link with the handouts.

On process, members reiterated that if the County Commission decides to pursue zoning it will create a planning commission and likely engage a zoning attorney. The board noted that planning and zoning typically involve multiple steps, public hearings and a higher voting threshold at the commission level for substantive changes.

Board members debated how prescriptive the advisory recommendations should be. Several members warned against an approach they said resembles Labette County’s more detailed model; others cautioned that an approach that leaves "all other uses" unconstrained could force the county into reactive decision‑making if large-scale projects arrive. One member summarized the tradeoff: limit too much and you risk overregulation; limit too little and the county may be unprepared for industrial-scale developments.

The board agreed to finalize one-page handouts for the forums, to collect both spoken and written public input, and to compile recommendations — including any dissenting opinions — for presentation to the County Commission. The board asked staff to work on publication logistics and to ask the county clerk about an email address or other consolidated method for receiving public submissions through the forum period.

The meeting concluded with procedural votes earlier in the session: approval of minutes and the schedule for the upcoming public forums and advisory meetings. No zoning ordinance or policy was adopted; the board’s actions were limited to scheduling, outreach planning and drafting recommendations for the County Commission.