Commissioners say Last Best Place petition included proposed regulations, ask planning commission to review

Prairie County commissioners spent a substantial portion of the March 11 meeting addressing confusion among landowners over whether the county had adopted just the district boundary or the district plus the petitioner‑submitted regulations for the Last Best Place zoning district.

Several residents during public comment (Resident S3 and others) said they believed only the district boundary was adopted and asked whether setbacks and other rules would bind property owners outside the mapped zone. A commissioner (S2) told residents the county’s action had accepted the full petition package and said the planning commission that will be formed should review the regulations and provide recommendations. "We adopted the whole thing because that's what was submitted," S2 said, urging staff to put a clarifying note on the record.

Commissioners agreed to notify affected landowners and present the proposed regulations to a soon‑to‑be‑constituted zoning and planning commission for review and any recommended variances or technical edits. The board cited statutory requirements and a specific statute reference (noted in the minutes as 'Annotated code 76‑2‑101') in explaining the process. No new regulations were written at the meeting; rather, the board sought to clarify what the petition package included and to ensure transparency for landowners who had called the office with questions.