Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The trouble was, nobody could find the map.
The zoning map that hung on the wall at Tekoa city hall was not recognizable anymore. It was made in 1979, and no one could find the newer one.
Thus, this spring Tekoa city officials began work on a current zoning map, which is now almost complete. The effort also brought about another, related project which will be undertaken this fall, when the city makes a document containing animal ordinance/zoning issues.
“(The map) is something that had to be done,” said Tekoa mayor John Jaeger.
One of the aspects to address was that the original map designated various areas as “open space,” which needed to be termed “rural residential” or “urban residential.”
In April, Jaeger, Tekoa Maintenance Supervisor Dwayne Groom, Clerk/Treasurer Kynda Browning and others laid out a large piece of paper on the floor at city hall and got to work with colored pencils.
They referred to an aerial map made by the Century West engineering firm for the recent water and sewer projects in town.
“The map just didn’t correlate with ordinances,” said Jaeger. “Now it does.”
Janice Fisher, Tekoa’s chairperson for the zoning committee, led the project to make the new map. She also worked on the most recent zoning map, in the 1980s – the one that no one has been able to find.
Once a new one was created, drafts were put forth for review in two public meetings, in June and July.
“Quite a few people showed up and gave their input,” said Fisher. “It went really well. It was really nice to see the participation of the people, and their concerns.”
The map was approved by the Tekoa city council following the July 22 public hearing.
While the meetings were for the public to give input, there was also explanation by the city.
Jaeger said that in areas zoned rural residential, animals are allowed while urban residential requires permission to have animals.
These distinctions will be the subject of another project by the city this fall.
Jaeger said they will put together a document for all animal zoning issues, such as what kind of animals are permitted in which areas, how many acres are required to have a certain animal and more.
“We just need to get all the information together in one,” he said.
The purpose is to make it easier for residents to know what is permitted and easier for the city to look up information to make decisions.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” said Jaeger. “We’ll probably look at a lot of other towns to see how they’ve addressed it.”
Jaeger suggested that another ordinance-related issue the town will address is to look at whether to limit vehicle size in commercial parking on Crosby Street. The concern is that certain vehicles, such as motor homes, can inhibit the view of other motorists.
“We think it’s a hazard,” said Jaeger. “And we may be liable for that hazard.”
The new zoning map is expected to go up at city hall by October.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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