Boone County planning staff to publish comp‑plan elements as commissioners press Planning Commission on zoning choices

Kevin Costello, county planning staff, told the Boone County Fiscal Court on Tuesday that the county is preparing to post the comprehensive-plan "existing conditions" elements to the county website next week and will solicit public comment through the spring and early summer.

"We're about ready to publish the existing conditions, the elements, will be published next week on our website," Costello said, adding that staff plans both in-person and virtual workshops and aims to present a future land-use map and hold a public hearing in early September with adoption targeted for October.

The update drew questions from commissioners who said recent Planning Commission decisions — including unanimous approvals of multiple hotel projects since 2019 — appear to diverge from the guidance in the 2019 plan. One commissioner said the comp plan already expresses residents’ preference that new uses be oriented toward local residents rather than interstate travelers and asked whether Planning Commission members are applying current goals and objectives when recommending zone changes.

Kevin Costello responded that zoning decisions consider multiple criteria and that staff will emphasize that decisions should be read together with both the map and the text of the plan. "It's not just what the land-use map says, it's what goes with the land-use map and how it fits in with the community," Costello said.

Commissioners pressed that the court and staff must pay closer attention to how future land-use text and map changes are applied to specific projects. They asked staff to highlight which elements of the draft plan have changed from 2019 and to point to sections staff will draft, particularly for sensitive areas such as the Richwood interchange corridor.

Why it matters: The comprehensive plan sets long-term goals the county uses to evaluate zone-change requests and projects. Commissioners wary of perceived deviations from the plan said they may push for clearer findings and stricter application of the plan's text when reviewing future Planning Commission recommendations. The court did not take formal action but asked staff to continue posting materials for public review and return with the draft schedule and materials.

What’s next: Staff will post the elements online and hold workshops; the court will receive materials as they are published and will continue to review the draft text and map ahead of the public hearing in September.