Commissioners press Planning and Development Council as ordinance rewrite approaches

Manning County commissioners met with the Planning and Development Council for their annual review, pressing the council and county planning staff to simplify zoning rules and reduce the number of routine variance requests that slow development.

Stuart Ward, chairman of the Planning and Development Council, said the council has improved its working relationship with county staff over the last three years and is aiming to speed consideration of applications while adhering to ordinance requirements. “We’re trying to make things better all the time and get through our agenda items as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” Ward said.

Commissioners and council members identified two recurring challenges: the complexity of subdivision reviews and a steady stream of variance requests. Chad Selenite, a council member who works in construction, described subdivision hearings as “complicated” and said the paperwork and technical reviews (drainage, DEQ, IDWR) can be overwhelming for councilors. Stuart Ward and others questioned whether some approved variances are effectively convenience variances that set unwanted precedents.

Bob Jensen, the planning director, told the commission the department has been working to help applicants avoid wasted fees and unnecessary hearings by counseling applicants earlier in the process and refining staff reports. Jensen also said the current council is the most geographically diverse the office has had and credited recent council input with prompting staff to streamline report language.

Tristan Berkland, assistant planning director, said the ordinance rewrite is a major undertaking and that the office is awaiting a legal review before scheduling a dedicated workshop. “We do have a couple of dates that we're looking at for a potential special meeting,” Berkland said, adding that the special meeting would be focused solely on the ordinance so the council could consider revisions without other agenda items.

A commissioner urged the council to use a focused special meeting to ‘‘zero in’’ on easement, water and other technical questions, arguing the rewrite will shape county development for years. Commissioners repeatedly asked staff and the council to look for ways to make the ordinance easier to comply with — “delete, delete, delete,” the presiding commissioner said — while preserving protections for the county and the public.

Staff noted the rewrite has reorganized material: what had been a single ordinance package has been restructured into eight ordinances occupying about 160 pages in total. Jensen said staff can also help councilors frame findings when needed but emphasized the council should retain deliberative independence.

The review closed with mutual thanks: council members praised staff reports for citing applicable ordinances and the county’s 2040 plan, and staff thanked the council for constructive critique. Berkland said staff will send scheduling information once legal review is complete and prepare materials for the planned ordinance workshop.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the review.