CITY SLATES DATE FOR HEARING ON CRITICAL AREAS ORDINANCE

Colfax City Council members Tuesday night approved a motion to slate a hearing on the new critical areas ordinance. The hearing has been set for the next regular council session Feb. 4.

Members of the council indicated they will conduct the hearing to get residents’ comments on the proposed ordinance, and then take some time before actually voting on the revised ordinance which designates critical areas for protection.

City Administrator Carl Thompson has circulated draft copies of the ordinance to council members. He said the city has until the end of the year to install an updated ordinance on the books.

Thompson explained a failure by the city to update the ordinance could reduce the city’s chances of landing funds through future grants from state agencies. He said having critical areas ordinance on the books is one of the normal items state agencies check when awarding grant funds to grant applicants.

Councilman Jim Kackman said it was his understanding that towns which failed to keep a crucial areas ordinance on the books were also disqualified to receive the towns’ portion of state real estate excise tax proceeds.

Kackman said he has become concerned about how such an ordinance can become a hindrance as projects occur in the future. He said provisions in the ordinance can potentially complicate development proposals as people try to make use of their property. Problems can evolve from how the ordinance classifies, designates and protects critical areas, he added.

Kackman added he approved of the provisions for buffer areas and mitigation requirements which have been included in the draft version of the proposed ordinance.

Thompson said he plans to have a final version of the ordinance ready before the formal hearing date. He said the draft version which has been submitted to the council includes some unneeded wording that probably resulted from the “cut and paste” approach used in preparing the ordinance. The ordinance was first reviewed by the city’s planning commission, then submitted to state agencies for review and comment and then returned to the planning commission. Thompson said the agency reviews actually resulted in few changes in the first draft.

The council noted any project proposals which require a review of the town’s critical areas for this year will be subject to the current ordinance which will be on the books until the end of the year.