| Zoning issues top of mind for county |
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Posted: Friday, July 9, 2010 8:17 am
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You can’t have it both ways.
Forest Township officials learned that last week when they went before the Rice County Planning Commission.
The township board went before the commission with a request to change existing county zoning ordinances so that organized motor sports could only be held eight days a year in agricultural zones. Current zoning regulations allow motor sports for any length of time in the zones. The request was the latest effort by the township to block the construction of a $2.7 million motor sports park by Motokazie Inc. Their request was rejected by the commission, but will go before the full county board July 27.
Township officials and other opponents were successful in part in their first attempt to kill the motor sports park because owner Lee Theis sought a variance from existing zoning regulations to locate the park at the intersection of Interstate 35 and CSAH 1. The Rice County Board rejected the variance request on a split vote.
During that debate, opponents argued that the process to get the zoning ordinances in place took so long and were so contentious that allowing any variance would be disrespectful and unfair to that process.
Yet, in seeking a change to the ordinances that’s now exactly what Forest Township officials wanted from the county planning commission. And it’s what they’ll want when they go before the full county board of commissioners on July 27.
The planning commission was correct in rejecting the township’s request. It would have unfairly restricted a particular kind of business from locating anywhere in the county.
That wasn’t the intent of the original zoning ordinance, either.
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