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Baker County planning agency approves variance and three rezonings to allow family lots and parcel compliance
Summary
At its meeting, the Baker County Local Planning Agency approved a variance to allow two dwellings on an undersized parcel and adopted three ordinances: a small-scale land-use amendment and companion rezoning for a 5-acre parcel, and a rezoning to permit division of a 29-acre trust property.
The Baker County Local Planning Agency approved a variance to permit two dwellings on an undersized parcel and adopted three ordinances that rezone parcels to bring them into compliance and enable family inheritance plans, planning staff said.
Planning staff told the panel the variance was requested after a prior administrative reclassification removed the parcel’s grandfathered status; utilities were disconnected and the dwelling was boarded, but the shell remains and the current owners intend to renovate. "Staff does recommend approval," planning staff said during the hearing.
The actions are intended to allow property owners to renovate or split parcels without running afoul of current zoning when seeking financing, staff said. Members of the agency repeatedly noted banks often require parent parcels to meet current acreage standards even when a family-lot provision exists.
On the variance case, planning staff said the parcel had previously lost any grandfathered allowance for two dwellings when it was reclassified and the structure’s utilities were disconnected. The property owners, descendants of the prior owners, told the agency they plan to renovate the existing structure and not to subdivide the parcel. A board member warned owners to confirm financing: "...sometimes the banks will say that they do not allow dual residences on the cemetery's property. So make sure you check that out too," the board member said.
The board voted to approve the variance (motion referenced in the record as "202565"). The vote was taken by voice; the chair called for aye and the motion carried.
The agency then took up a companion pair of applications (ordinance numbers 2024-24 and 2024-25) for a parcel off Bob Burchard Road owned by Robert and Margie Guy. Planning staff said the parcel is a 5-acre tract created before current standards and does not meet acreage requirements under the AG 7.5 zoning. The applicants asked for a small-scale land-use amendment from Agricultural B to Very Low Density Residential (ordinance 2024-24) and a companion rezoning to Residential Conventional/Mobile Home 2.5 (RCMH 2.5) (ordinance 2024-25) to bring the parent tract into compliance and preserve flexibility for a future family lot. Staff recommended approval, noting similar zoning immediately to the south. The agency voted to adopt both ordinances by voice vote; the chair called for aye and the motions carried.
A third rezoning (ordinance 2024-26) involved two parcels held in the Donna Lee Wheeler Revocable Living Trust. Planning staff said the two parcels together equal 29 acres; the trustee, Janice Wheeler Manning, seeks rezoning from Agricultural 7.5 to Agricultural 5 so the trust can divide the property into roughly 6-acre shares for heirs as directed by the trust. Staff recommended approval and advised the owners that splitting the property will affect homestead exemptions; the trustee said they have been working with an attorney. The agency voted to approve the rezoning by voice vote; the motion carried.
Agency members and staff discussed broader planning matters after the land actions. Planning staff said an evaluation and appraisal report (EAR) letter is due to the state Department of Economic Opportunity by the end of March; the agency noted the county’s comp plan was last addressed in 2019 and agreed to schedule a workshop and public outreach to identify priorities for updates including solar-field guidance, agritourism, and resiliency measures. "We are due to submit that in March of this year," planning staff said.
The Local Planning Agency set a workshop and the next meeting: a work session at 4 p.m. before the regular meeting on Feb. 13 to review comp-plan priorities, followed by outreach and a one-year update timeline after submission of the EAR letter.
Votes at a glance: the record shows four approvals by voice vote: the variance (recorded in the minutes as motion "202565"), ordinance 2024-24 (small-scale land-use amendment), ordinance 2024-25 (companion rezoning), and ordinance 2024-26 (rezoning of trust property). The minutes record the motions as adopted by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not specified in the transcript.
