Benton County planners outline two‑phase development code and comp‑plan update; public outreach RFP underway

Benton County Planning Commission members on an informational agenda item heard staff describe a two‑phase update of the county's development code and comprehensive plan and discussed public outreach and subcommittee work. Planner Petra told commissioners the first phase will be an audit of the code and administrative material and the second phase will be the policy work and public engagement.

"Phase 1 is about nine months," Petra said, and "the Phase 2 process, we're thinking it's gonna be about an 18‑month process." She said staff will continue to work with the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and with MIG, the firm that previously worked on the development‑code update, and that an RFP for a public‑outreach consultant on the comprehensive‑plan update is closing soon.

The commission's long‑range planning item matters because the development code implements the county's comprehensive plan and state land‑use goals; the update is intended to resolve inconsistencies between the code, the comp plan and state guidance, and to produce clearer, more objective language for future land‑use decisions.

What staff described

Planner Petra said staff are auditing the existing development code to identify scrivener errors, inconsistent citations and areas that need clearer objective standards. Petra said staff have prepared a higher‑level workflow for the public and a more detailed staff workflow for quasi‑judicial decision making, and that the more technical workflow will be made available to commissioners before the next meeting.

Petra said the county intends to run the work in two phases: an audit and clean‑up (phase 1), followed by focused policy work driven by community priorities (phase 2). She said MIG will have an advantage in any phase because of familiarity with the county's prior work, but that state contracting rules require RFPs for each procurement.

Public outreach and consultants

Petra said the RFP for the comprehensive‑plan public outreach consultant closes in about two weeks; she said the selected consultant is expected to present a work plan that the county and this commission will help shape. Commissioners pressed staff about how the county will reach diverse parts of Benton County beyond a small number of public meetings. Petra and other staff said the goal is to combine national outreach practice with local, community‑led meetings and to use community advisory committees and local organizations to improve participation.

Commissioner Fulford gave an update on the regional housing subcommittee, saying the group is in a "socialization" phase meeting roughly 10–12 local organizations and that the subcommittee expects two to three months of outreach before moving to prioritized, action‑oriented meetings. Fulford said the subcommittee hopes to produce an inventory and infrastructure gap analysis to support fall legislative timing.

Code, comp plan relationship and timing

Petra reiterated that the comp plan is the policy document and the development code is the implementation document; both will be considered in the voluntary periodic review. She said phase 1 work is intended to be an approximate nine months of auditing and administrative edits, followed by about an 18‑month policy phase in which priorities identified by staff, the commission and the public will be addressed.

Searchable code and website issues

Commissioners raised accessibility and searchability problems on the county website and with a previous document set referenced in outreach (several links were reported broken). Staff acknowledged the issue and said they would follow up and provide updates. Commissioner Biscoe and others recommended making meeting notes and subcommittee products publicly available and urged stronger outreach to communities that lack organized advisory committees.

Decisions and next steps

The comprehensive‑plan update remains an informational item and no policy decisions were adopted. Staff said they will circulate staff‑level notes, the more detailed quasi‑judicial workflow, and a summary of next steps to commissioners. The public‑outreach RFP will be evaluated and brought back with a consultant work plan that will be developed collaboratively with the commission.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve minutes from the April 30 joint session: approved (motion made and seconded; record: "Aye" announced). The minutes were accepted.

- Motion to approve minutes from the May 7 work session: approved (motion made and seconded; record: "Aye" announced). The minutes were accepted.

Ending

Staff will provide the commission the staff‑level notes and a more detailed workflow for quasi‑judicial cases before the next meeting; commissioners asked staff to improve website searchability and to ensure the outreach consultant's work plan reflects local strategies for reaching smaller unincorporated communities.