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Emmons County plans special meeting, aims for Dec. 2 public hearing on permit-process change
Summary
Commissioners agreed staff will draft an amendment or resolution to clarify permit review steps and to advertise a public hearing with a goal of holding it at the Dec. 2 regular meeting. Staff and commissioners discussed using interim procedures until a formal zoning board is organized and preferred evening hearings to improve public attendance.
Emmons County commissioners agreed during their meeting to ask staff to draft changes to the county’s permit-review procedure and to try to move the matter to a special first-reading meeting so a public hearing can be held at the Dec. 2 regular meeting.
The matter arose after commissioners noted an applicant filed in October but could not be scheduled for a public hearing until December under the current calendar. A commissioner said that accepting a permit starts the county review clock and asked that staff member Joe help craft language so the county could proceed while the county’s zoning board is still being formed.
The board discussed adopting the change by resolution — which would allow a single-reading adoption — or by ordinance, which would require two readings. Several commissioners stressed a preference for holding a public hearing "so people can" vet the change; one said, "I don't want to have a public hearing where there's nobody here," and argued for evening hearings or scheduling the hearing to coincide with a regular meeting to improve attendance.
Staff and commissioners agreed on two practical constraints: the county must meet public-notice advertising deadlines (two weeks for notice to the paper was discussed) and an existing Public Service Commission hearing on the 20th could affect scheduling. To meet notice requirements while moving faster, participants proposed a special first-reading meeting (one proposed date was Nov. 9) to give nearly a month of advance notice ahead of a Dec. 2 public hearing at the regular meeting.
Commissioners directed staff (referred to in discussion as Joe and Josh) to draft the resolution or ordinance amendment quickly and notify the chairman once the draft is ready. The board said staff should attempt a special meeting for a first reading so that advertising for a second reading and a formal public hearing could proceed.
The discussion also noted an interim administrative process: until a zoning board is fully organized and able to accept permits (estimated by one participant at six months to a year), submissions may be routed to staff (Josh was named) and the board would process permits. Commissioners emphasized that any interim procedures should later be reviewed and updated once the zoning board is in place.
No formal motion to adopt changes was recorded at the meeting; commissioners instead directed staff to draft language and return with a proposed schedule and formal documents.
