Commissioners to fill zoning board seats
The recent abrupt departure of two members of the Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board should not delay any zoning hearings this month, since plans are to select two new board members soon. County Commission Chairwoman Angela M. Zimmerlink said Wednesday the three commissioners will interview the 17 applicants this week, and she would like to have a decision on the appointments within a few days. She said the commissioners either can hold a special meeting to make the appointments or make the selections and then ratify them at the July meeting.
Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites said the commissioners need to get “two good solid people” for the job.
Zimmerlink said she has received four resumes/letters of interest and 13 telephone calls from Fayette County residents interested in serving on the board since she sent out a press release asking for applicants last month.
Two of the interested individuals offered to do the job without any compensation, Zimmerlink said. She said the selection will be based on who the commissioners believe are best suited for the positions.
Zimmerlink said she wouldn’t want any of the hearings to be continued or postponed. Nineteen hearings are scheduled for this month, on July 13, 20, 21 and 27.
Last month, board vice chairman Dennis Nurkiewicz Sr. and board secretary Leon Evans resigned after the commissioners failed to approve a 10-point proposal from the zoning board that included increasing board members’ compensation, raising zoning application fees and increasing the number of days for hearings. Their resignations left the board with only chairman Mark Morrison and alternate members Myron Hoskins, Joe Beal and Jim Killinger. Although Zimmerlink said she had not received any letters of resignation, Vicites said he had received resignation letters from both Nurkiewicz and Evans.
The zoning board proposal, dubbed the “Nurkiewicz Plan,” called for an increase in daily compensation from $35 to $135 per day for the chairperson and members’ pay from $25 to $100 per day. The plan also sought to have an alternate member attend all hearings, at a rate of $100 per day.
The plan also called for increasing all zoning application fees to $700. Currently, the fees are $300 for residential, conservation and agricultural hearings, $600 for business or industrial hearings and $650 for appeals.
At last month’s commissioners’ meeting, Joseph A. Hardy III’s motion to accept the proposal did not receive a second. Although Hardy said he would pass anything the ZHB members requested, Vicites and Zimmerlink did not agree.
Vicites said the fees have to be reasonable and that they should cover the cost of holding the hearings and not more. Vicites said he would be willing to give a “reasonable increase” to the compensation for zoning board members to attend hearings, money that would come from a user fee system.
“I never want to see it come out of the taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Zimmerlink said she can understand increasing fees for permit costs, but said going from $300 to $700 is too much of a jump.
She said the commissioners have to look into why the fees are being increased, noting that it shouldn’t be just to increase the compensation of zoning board members, the solicitor and stenographer.
“The county should look into increasing filing fees, but it should be adjusted for inflationary costs and not for the attorney and ZHB members,” Zimmerlink said.
She said the zoning board is the only county commissioner-appointed board that is paid. As the chairwoman of the Fayette County Housing Authority, Zimmerlink said members are allowed to request compensation for traveling to and from the meetings, but since serving as chairwoman, to her knowledge, no one ever has sought that compensation.
Zimmerlink said she would like to see the zoning hearings last all day instead of half days.
In addition to not accepting the zoning board plan last month, the commissioners again delayed approval of the new zoning, subdivision and land development ordinance, zoning map, fee schedule and zoning map appeal ordinance. While Hardy was in favor of its adoption, Vicites and Zimmerlink said there were too many questions regarding the zoning map.
In the days leading up to the deadline for changes to be submitted to the county, Tammy Shell, executive director of the Fayette County Office of Planning, Zoning and Community Development, said a flood of requests for zoning changes came into the office.
Although the planning office worked with municipal officials to change the zoning map, numerous individuals concerned about the proposed changes from agricultural to residential zones have come forward. The idea to change some zoning from agricultural to residential came about because of the infrastructure improvements to many areas.
Shell previously said that even if the zoning is changed on a property, anyone already engaging in agricultural uses will still be permitted to continue those uses.
Plans are to have a public meeting with the commissioners, the consultant and members of the planning office prior to adoption of the plan.
Shell has asked the commissioners to consider three alternatives: adopting the text and map; adopting the text and adjusting the map; or adopting the text with only changes to the map dealing with the village district.
Shell said if the commissioners don’t want to adopt the map and text at once, she is urging them to at least adopt the text, and if she needs to work with the 32 municipalities regarding the map, she can do that.
Shell said some developers have been waiting for a year for adoption of the ordinance.
“People literally have been waiting for a years and they’re at a standstill,” she said, adding that it has been nearly three years since the process began to craft a new ordinance.
She said the ordinance is never going to be perfect.
“We do have an appeal process,” she said.