Adams County Planning and Zoning Committee approves multiple rezoning requests, forwards them to county board

The Adams County Planning and Zoning Committee approved multiple rezoning requests at its December meeting and sent each approved item to the full county board for final consideration on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.

The committee approved a roughly 1-acre rezone for Don and Robert Ammon that would change a parcel at 441 Fur Lane from B-1 (rural business) back to A-3 (secondary agriculture). "The welding shop never happened," Dustin, the Adams County zoning director, said, describing how a prior discrete area had been rezoned for a proposed business that never materialized. The committee moved and seconded the measure and the chair announced the motion passed.

A more contested application by Deborah and Lance Ferguson for a 10.07-acre parcel was also approved. Dustin told the committee the Town of Jackson did not object but staff received three phone-call objections from nearby residents concerned about property values, odors and noise. Lance, the applicant, said the family intends only to keep chickens and noted the neighborhood is surrounded by farmland. "We're just looking at chickens to basically have more than the I think it's 4 that's allowed for by the county for the R-1 zoning," Lance said, and later reiterated they intended to remain within county rules.

Neighbor Loretta Kunkel, who lives at 658 Fish Avenue and identifies herself as owning the property in front of Lance's, opposed the Ferguson rezone in public comment. She said she keeps 15 chickens, raised concerns about altered property lines and a lack of fencing, and objected to farm animals within roughly 600 feet of her home because of potential noise and odors. Kunkel also said Lance placed a speed-limit sign on her property and disputed his account that she had asked him to do so. "I don't want to hear his farm animals," she said.

Bruce moved to approve the Ferguson request and Don seconded; the chair called the roll and announced the motion passed. The transcript records both "yes" and at least one recorded "no" during the roll call; individual roll-call responses are not fully clear in the transcript record available.

The committee also approved a rezone request for Kim Elaine Dirks and Gregory Allen Gotcha that would split a 36.92-acre parcel near Richfield into a 5-acre A-3 portion and a ~31.92-acre A-1-15 remainder with a farmland preservation overlay. Dustin said the Town of Richfield had no objection but requested a 5-acre minimum for the split; the Department of Transportation reported no concerns and the parcels are access-controlled under state statute. Don moved to approve that request and Jerry seconded; the committee approved the application and was instructed to attend the county board meeting Dec. 16.

Carrie Begin’s application to rezone a 35.29-acre parcel so that about 3 acres would be R-1 for a homestead and roughly 32.29 acres would remain under A-1-15 with farmland preservation overlay was also approved after the applicant explained survey and shared-driveway easement arrangements. Jerry moved to approve and Don seconded; the committee approved the request and will forward it to the county board.

The committee approved Hint Estates after staff said the application cleared internal review with only a minor correction required. Staff said the correction does not change the plan; the committee approved the item and advised the applicant to make the fix before moving forward.

Routine items — including approval of the agenda and Nov. 5 minutes — were handled at the start of the meeting. The committee set its next meeting for Jan. 7 at 4:00 p.m. and adjourned.

Votes at a glance - Ammon rezone (441 Fur Lane, Lot 2, CSM 4139): motion to approve by Larry; second by Jerry; chair announced motion passed; forwarded to county board Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m. - Ferguson rezone (Deborah & Lance Ferguson, 10.07 acres): motion to approve by Bruce; second by Don; roll call included both recorded "yes" and at least one recorded "no"; chair announced motion passed; forwarded to county board Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m. - Dirks/Gotcha rezone (148 Highway 21): motion to approve by Don; second by Jerry; committee approved; applicants asked to attend county board on Dec. 16. - Begin rezone (1367 Highway 82): motion to approve by Jerry; second by Don; committee approved and forwarded to county board Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m. - Hint Estates subdivision: motion to approve by Larry; second by Jerry; committee approved.

What happened and why it matters The committee’s approvals will bring multiple land-use changes before the full Adams County Board on Dec. 16 for final action. Several items involved technical zoning distinctions (minimum lot sizes, farmland preservation overlay, and agricultural allowances) and local objections focused largely on odors, noise and neighborhood character when residential parcels seek agricultural zoning. The meeting illustrates typical county-level tradeoffs between property owners seeking agricultural uses and neighbors worried about proximity impacts.

What remains unresolved - Final county-board decisions on the rezones (scheduled for Dec. 16 at 6:00 p.m.) - Some roll-call responses in the transcript are unclear; the county’s official minutes or the county-board hearing record should be consulted for full vote tallies and official member name spellings.

Speakers cited in this story (first appearance in transcript) - Dustin, Adams County zoning director (first appears SEG 026) - Lance (applicant, Ferguson) (first appears SEG 125) - Loretta Kunkel (resident, 658 Fish Avenue) (first appears SEG 261) - Carrie Begin (applicant) (first appears SEG 430)

Authorities and references cited in meeting record - State statute (referenced by staff regarding access control for parcels near Highway 21; transcript reference: SEG 369–370) - Department of Transportation (DOT) (noted no issue with Dirks/Gotcha application; SEG 367–368) - Farmland preservation overlay (referenced for Dirks/Gotcha and Begin parcels; transcript references SEG 355–358, SEG 413–415)

Clarifying details extracted from the transcript - County R-1 zoning chicken limit discussed as "4" in applicant comment but Dustin and members referenced a five-chicken allowance for R-1 in committee discussion (transcript contains both "4" and "5" references; see SEG 143–146, SEG 180–181). Exact county code limit should be confirmed with Adams County code. - Town of Jackson, Town of Richfield and Town of Springville provided no-objection comments on respective items (SEG 052–055, SEG 363–366, SEG 419–421). - DOT indicated no issue and noted access control via state statute for Highway 21 parcel (SEG 367–370).

Proper names (normalized) - Adams County (jurisdiction) - Town of Jackson (town) - Town of Richfield (town) - Town of Springville (town) - Department of Transportation (agency)

Claims, disputes and status - Claim: Neighbors (Tim Grun, Eugene Smelco, Vince Kiltzmann) alleged the Ferguson rezone could reduce property values and bring smells/noise (SEG 103–116). Status: disputed/unresolved in meeting; committee approved the request despite objections. - Claim: Loretta Kunkel said Lance placed a speed-limit sign on her property and disputed his account (SEG 284–292). Status: unresolved in meeting; recorded in public comment.

Highlights (short clips suitable for social media) - SEG 044 excerpt: "The welding shop never happened." (Dustin summarizing prior rezoning for Ammon parcel) Confidence: 0.92 - SEG 143–145 excerpt: "We're just looking at chickens to basically have more than the I think it's 4 that's allowed for by the county for the R-1 zoning." (Lance, on intended use) Confidence: 0.87 - SEG 277–279 excerpt: "I don't want to hear his farm animals." (Loretta Kunkel opposing Ferguson rezone) Confidence: 0.90

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