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Bicknell council votes to keep 221‑foot commercial boundary off Highway 24
Summary
The Bicknell Town Council upheld planning and zoning’s recommendation to keep the commercial zone set 221 feet back from Highway 24, rejecting rezoning at this time and directing staff to proceed with the existing map. Councilors also denied a request for a single‑wide trailer earlier in the meeting.
The Bicknell Town Council on March 5 voted to adopt planning and zoning’s recommendation to keep the commercial zoning boundary 221 feet off Highway 24.
Planning and zoning representative Jim reported the committee reviewed a proposed zoning map and recommended retaining the 221‑foot definition, noting five parcels that no longer physically border Main Street had been shown as commercial on prior plans and in the town’s building and zoning ordinance. "The end decision was to go with the map that was presented that showed the 221 feet," Jim said.
Council discussion focused on how changes could prompt individual rezone requests. Jim and other councilors said parcels that are later subdivided would be evaluated against the ordinance at that time; if a back parcel were split off, it could convert to residential because it would no longer border Highway 24. Several council members warned that reopening the map for public hearing could prompt owners to push to keep their land commercial. "If you brought the five people in and said we're gonna change it from commercial to residential, you'd get more of them treating it like commercial than you would if you just stayed quiet about it," one councilor said.
Chair moved the planning and zoning recommendation; the motion was seconded and the council voted in favor. The council also reviewed a planning item earlier in the meeting: Jim said Sean Polser requested permission to place a 729‑square‑foot single‑wide trailer on private property but the committee concluded single‑wide trailers are not allowed under current ordinances and denied the request.
Why it matters: retaining the 221‑foot commercial boundary preserves the town’s longtime map and avoids an immediate rezone process that could produce conflicting parcel boundaries along the highway. Councilors said they prefer to preserve the current ordinance and let future subdivisions trigger parcel‑level reviews.
What’s next: The council voted to keep the existing map and will address any individual rezoning requests if and when property owners apply.
