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Agricultural zoning under review by council

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the city council took the first steps toward accepting new approved uses in agriculture and agriculture/residential zoned areas. These changes were initially approved unanimously at the planning commission’s meeting Nov. 18.

As city staff reviews various projects, they discover items that they believe should be allowed in certain zones, said city manager Gary Person.

“For one, mobile homes had previously only been allowed in mobile home parks,” Person said.

The planning commission decided it would be acceptable to allow one mobile home per parcel in agriculture and agriculture/residential zones.

“With modulars and some of the other better built mobile homes that we see today, there was not good logic to say it shouldn’t be allowed,” Person said.

The next change would allow landscaping nursery services and landscaping sand and gravel storage in agriculturally zoned properties with the issuance of a conditional use permit.

“It would make some sense that those would be allowed in those large acreages,” Person said.

Councilman Joe Arterburn wondered if there had been some demand from the public for these changes.

Person answered that the city had at least one request for a mobile home in an agriculture zone as well as landscaping sand and gravel storage.

Another change would be approval of communications towers or antennas to be allowed in agriculturally zoned property.

“In staff’s opinion this is a far more logical place for it to be installed than it would actually, in industrial or commercial zoned areas,” Person said.

In an agriculture zone a tower would not be intrusive to existing development.

A deal has already been made with a landowner in an agriculture area to build one of these towers. Those involved are waiting for the council’s decision on this matter to move forward, Person said.

The council decided that anyone wishing to build a tower in an agriculture zone should have to obtain approval from the planning commission before construction.

The last use change was allowance of crop production and orchards in agriculture zoned properties.

“It’s kind of a no brainer,” Person said.

For an unexplained reason, this wasn’t listed in approved uses, even though it seems obvious, he added.

The council designated the ordinance for these changes and will read the ordinance again at the next meeting.

 

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