Planning council recommends adoption of updated Bannock County comprehensive plan with pedestrian/canal‑trail language and one future‑land‑use amendment

The Bannock County Planning and Development Council voted to recommend adoption of a revised comprehensive plan to the Board of County Commissioners, with two amendments recommended by the council.

Council members approved a motion to forward the plan to the commissioners and to request two specific changes: (1) amend the future‑land‑use map for parcel RPR3853006700 (14788 West Chevwick Road) from Residential Suburban to Light Industrial at the property owner’s request and (2) add a strategy to Goal 1.3 encouraging coordination with municipal partners and greenway groups to preserve pedestrian and bicycle corridors (for example along irrigation canal rights‑of‑way) as adjacent lands develop.

Staff planning director Hal Hansen said the rewrite incorporated months of outreach, two council work sessions and agency comments from the city of Pocatello and local groups. He and staff acknowledged some agency requests — notably a request from Pocatello planning staff to align county language with the city — but said the county retained planning discretion and would renegotiate areas of city impact and details with cities as appropriate. Devin Hillam, community services director for the city of Chubbuck, and Greenway Foundation representatives provided written and oral comments urging language that would preserve canal rights‑of‑way for future trails; the council agreed to add supportive strategy language and to continue negotiations with cities and local partners.

A resident and property owner, Ben Gardner, asked the council to change the future‑land‑use designation for his 4.14‑acre parcel from Residential Suburban to Light Industrial to facilitate a planned subdivision and potential relocation of a truss‑building operation. Staff explained that a future‑land‑use map amendment affects the whole parcel and that formal rezoning and subdivision steps would still be required; councilmembers agreed to include the parcel amendment as part of the recommendation forward to the commissioners. Council members discussed the timing and limited input period for the plan update but concluded the parcel request and the greenway language were appropriate to record in the recommendation.

The motion to recommend the comprehensive plan to the commissioners carried on a roll call vote with council members voting yes. Staff said the recommendation and the two changes would be forwarded to the county commissioners for final action and that staff would continue negotiations on areas of city impact and greenway language in follow‑up meetings.