Commission to reconvene on zoning and conditional-use rules after debate over 3% industrial fee and battery-storage permit

A lengthy discussion and public comment session focused on the county’s conditional‑use permitting process and a previously proposed fee structure for large industrial projects. Presenters and multiple residents said the commission had earlier adopted a policy or motion that would assess a 3% fee on the total project cost for industrial projects within county boundaries; they said the amendment had not been fully implemented in the county’s ordinance or fee schedule and urged the commission to finish the work.

Several residents and a landowner argued that charging only a modest flat application fee (participants cited $250) for large energy or data projects was inadequate and that a percentage-based fee would better compensate the county for infrastructure impacts. A community speaker described the scale of recent projects and said the difference between a flat fee and 3% of a multi‑million‑dollar build is material to the county’s long-term fiscal health. Multiple commissioners and legal counsel acknowledged ambiguity in the existing zoning text—particularly about whether projects sited on agriculturally zoned land should be treated as industrial conditional uses—and said definitions and fee language need clarification.

County counsel explained that amending the zoning ordinance requires a first and second reading and public notice; commissioners discussed options including forming a permanent zoning board or commission to review permits and conducting a public hearing. A motion to schedule a follow-up meeting to draft or finalize ordinance language passed (motion by Commissioner Craig; staff to prepare draft ordinance language and publish required notices). Commissioners noted that, until the ordinance language is formally amended, they retain discretion to approve or deny permit applications under the existing ordinance on a case-by-case basis.

Next steps: county staff and counsel will compile prior meeting minutes, draft ordinance language addressing industrial conditional-use fees and definitions (including whether certain large projects must seek the industrial conditional-use permit), consult Century Code guidance on forming a board and on levy/millage authority if the county pursues a zoning board financed by a mill levy or other mechanism, and publish the first reading and public‑hearing notices. Commissioners set a special meeting window to consider the ordinance draft and public comment but did not adopt amended language at this meeting.