Commission to solicit letters of interest for five‑member citizen zoning panel; April 14 deadline set

Bourbon County commissioners voted to post a notice inviting letters of interest to serve on a five‑member citizen advisory panel (plus one commissioner) to research zoning options for the county. Letters are to be received by April 14, after which the commission will review applicants and convene the panel to study and recommend zoning options.

The motion’s sponsor said the panel would review staff work, examine zoning examples from other counties (including Allen County), hold public forums, and return recommendations to the commission. The panel was described as research‑focused: its role is to evaluate types of zoning (for example, agricultural base zoning with special‑use permits for non‑agricultural industries) and to provide an accessible, transparent process for citizen input. The sponsor emphasized this is not an immediate codification of county regulations but an exploratory effort to craft options and hold public meetings.

Commissioners discussed timing and transparency: some raised a preference to wait until the commission is fully staffed, but others said the work is exploratory and that staff already had preliminary materials from other counties and that moving forward would not preempt future votes. The commission set April 14 as the deadline for letters and said staff would return candidate lists for review. The commission asked staff to prepare a public notice with criteria for selection and to present a recommended timeline for the panel’s meetings.

No detailed panel bylaws, meeting schedule, or budget were adopted at this meeting; commissioners said those items would be set once panelists are selected.