week of 12/25/02
 
 
 
  Jackson does away with planning board
By Don Hendershot

Recent moves by Jackson County commissioners to disband the current planning board and draft new planning procedures are the first steps toward creating a comprehensive and unified vision for future growth and development in the county, says new board chairman Stacy Buchanan.

At the Dec. 17 regular session, commissioners unanimously passed a motion to disband the current planning board, draft new procedures utilizing task forces to deal with single issues, divide the existing planning board to work on the county’s sediment and control ordinance and noise ordinance, and develop and publicize a data base of citizens willing to serve on task forces.

County Manager Ken Westmoreland said the move was an effort to deal more quickly with issues that are currently on the table, and that he wouldn’t envision this process as the way to deal with long-term planning. He said that ad hoc committees and/or task forces are often used by businesses.

“The idea is to put together people who have strong interests and/or expertise in certain areas rather than have a large unwieldy group,” said Westmoreland.

Commissioners have scheduled a special Smart Growth planning session for 6 p.m., Jan. 16, in room 203 of the Justice and Administration building. Buchanan said it is his goal to come out of that meeting, or as soon after that meeting as possible, with a set of goals and priorities and a timeline for achieving them. He said that he would like to have a document that planners, citizens, task force members and other interested parties could look at, “so everyone will be on the same page.”

“My recommendation will be that until we have a plan, we utilize consultants and or people with expertise to deal with issues and help us create a comprehensive plan for the county. Once we have a clear vision for the county, then go out and get a planner,” Buchanan said.

There will come a time when a standing planning board is needed by the county, said Buchanan, but an organizational framework needs to be put in place first. He said he would like to see all the county’s ordinances reviewed and codified. He said they and other county policies should be collected and published in a clear, concise, accessible document and available on the Internet.

“Of course these are just my ideas. The other commissioners will have ideas and suggestions and it will be up to the entire board to come to consensus about what is best for Jackson County,” Buchanan said.

Westmoreland, who was asked by the board to work with planning coordinator Tamera Crisp to draft new planning procedures, agrees that a planner is probably in the county’s future. He said the task forces would be created to make recommendations on four or five specific issues but that, “I believe everyone agrees that a codified plan is needed. It could be a general development plan that looks at a wide range of issues from transportation to water and sewer, to housing, to growth patterns and outside influences that affect the county. Everyone realizes there is a larger picture.”