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Commissioners debate legal process for Plan Hamilton; tabled resolutions sent back to planning commission
Summary
A dispute over whether the county commission may 'adopt' or only 'approve' a regional plan led commissioners to leave two Plan Hamilton resolutions on the table and direct the Regional Planning Commission to proceed under state law.
Chairman Jeff Eversall said the commission had incorrectly been presented a resolution to "adopt" Plan Hamilton and sought legal clarity on whether that authority belongs to the planning commission.
The immediate question at the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners recessed meeting on June 25 was procedural: whether the county legislative body may "adopt" a regional comprehensive plan or only "approve" a plan that has first been adopted and certified by the planning commission. That uncertainty prompted a months-long, often heated discussion and left two related resolutions (625-59 and 625-60) tabled and effectively returned to the planning commission.
The issue matters because state law assigns the formal adoption and certification step to the planning commission, after which the legislative body may approve or amend the plan. County Attorney Varnell told the commission that "the state statute that requires a...regional comprehensive plan does not allow the legislative body to adopt something that has not already been certified…
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