Zoning commission recommends ending 2-mile intergovernmental zoning agreements with Carroll, Glidden; board to consider Feb. 3

The Carroll County Zoning Commission has recommended that the Board of Supervisors abolish the county’s existing 28E two-mile zoning agreements with the cities of Carroll and Glidden and revert to the state-default quarter-mile transition, Zoning Administrator Sarah Haverhill said.

Haverhill read the commission’s recommendation, noting the commission’s Jan. 22, 2025, public hearing and vote. “On Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, the Carroll County Zoning Commission held a public hearing where it was voted to recommend that the Carroll County Board of Supervisors abolish all current 28 e 2 mile zoning agreements with incorporated municipalities in Carroll County being the city Of Carroll and the city of Glidden,” she said, reading the drafted letter to the supervisors.

The commission also recommended that areas inside those two-mile zones that are not currently zoned agricultural be assigned a comparable county zone under Carroll County ordinances and that owners of parcels affected by the change be given a window—described in the recommendation as either two months or 12 months—to apply for a zoning change without paying the county’s rezoning fee. Haverhill said that fee is $50.

The recommendation cites recorded agreements: the City of Carroll agreement originated as a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 19, 1984, and was recorded subsequently (record citation: book 83, page 41), and the City of Glidden agreement was recorded Sept. 16, 1993 (book 114, page 365), Haverhill told the board.

Several residents spoke to the board during the discussion. Marty De Anser said residents in the two-mile area sought “more input talking with the supervisors and dealing with the city,” and Lisa Danzer said the topic had been under discussion for months and that petition signers and others had had multiple opportunities to voice opinions.

Board chair Scott Johnson said the county will place the zoning commission’s recommendation on the supervisors’ agenda for action at the Feb. 3 board meeting; county staff told the board the county attorney will draft the necessary resolution language and that the county attorney advised that a separate public hearing or publication may not be required for the supervisors to act.

What’s next: The Board of Supervisors will consider the zoning commission’s recommendation at its Feb. 3 meeting. If supervisors abolish the 28E agreements, county staff said they would notify affected property owners and apply county zoning by ordinance; owners would be able to apply to change the county’s proposed zone within the specified fee-waiver timeframe.