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Planning staff seek approval to add farm‑and‑ag conservation parcel hearing and hire project manager for comprehensive plan update
Summary
Scott Chesney, director of planning, asked the Board of County Commissioners on March 11 to set a hearing/notice and approve negotiating a project‑manager contract (up to $150,000) for the county’s comprehensive‑plan update, and described an 11‑acre Farm and Agricultural Conservation Program application recommended for approval.
Scott Chesney, director of planning, briefed the Board of County Commissioners on March 11 on two planning matters: (1) a single‑parcel application to the Farm and Agricultural Conservation Program and (2) the county’s plan to negotiate a contract for a project manager to coordinate the comprehensive-plan periodic update.
On the conservation parcel, Chesney said the 11‑acre parcel in the county’s northeast/agricultural area had documentation, including a farm plan and a weed-control plan, and that it scored 165 points — the maximum discount. He said the Public Benefit Rating Board (the Planning Commission sitting under that title) held a public hearing and recommended approval. Chesney proposed a modified schedule to set notice and consideration within a one‑week cycle to speed processing; under the approach the board would receive the recommendation on March 11 and consider the item on March 18.
On the comprehensive-plan update, Chesney said the county planned to negotiate a limited contract for project‑management services (not to exceed $150,000 over two years) that would be funded through Department of Commerce grants and would help manage consultant schedules, staff workflows and public‑outreach deadlines. He said Commerce had taken on broader greenhouse‑gas modeling work on the eleven‑county planning area, which allowed the county to reduce certain grant‑funded tasks without using general‑fund revenue; Chesney said the project‑manager role was anticipated and budgeted from the outset and would not create an unplanned General Fund obligation.
Why it matters: the conservation program preserves agricultural land and provides a tax‑benefit mechanism administered by the assessor; the project manager is intended to keep a multi‑jurisdictional, multi‑consultant comprehensive‑plan update on schedule and compliant with Commerce grant terms.
What’s next: staff asked the board to place the conservation parcel notice and the project‑manager negotiation authorization on the legislative agenda for action next week; staff said they would begin contract negotiations with a selected firm if the board agreed.
