Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sub Area Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee maps out Greater Rigby sub-area plan as a guide — not a law
Summary
Jefferson County planners and committee members clarified that the Greater Rigby Sub-Area plan "sits between the Comp Plan and zoning regulation" and will guide findings and policy, while ordinances remain the law; committee members urged more specificity to aid future rezoning decisions.
The Jefferson County Greater Rigby Area Committee revisited the purpose and legal status of a draft sub-area plan on June 22, with Planning and Zoning Administrator Milton Ollerton saying the document "sits between the Comp Plan and zoning regulation" and will translate that guidance into specific land-use policies.
Planning & Zoning Chairman Michael Clark told the group that "the Comp Plan is not 'law' the ordinances are law," explaining the distinction between guiding policy documents and enforceable code. Committee members said a more detailed sub-area plan could provide the Planning & Zoning Commission clearer findings of fact when evaluating rezones and development proposals.
Committee member Jim Gerdes argued the group has an opportunity to be proactive in drafting criteria that make county decisions more defensible and transparent. Ollerton and Clark said the plan would not necessarily convert into ordinance automatically but would inform future code updates and staff recommendations.
The committee directed staff to develop policy-language options that could be recommended to the Planning & Zoning Commission and eventually the Board of County Commissioners, emphasizing clarity on what the plan would and would not change about ordinance-based permitting.
