Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/02/1996

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Training Board /t~embers Without a doubt, adequa{e training is the primary issue for planners working with ZBAs. Training concerns, successes, and failures dom,nated the co~nment l,st. Horror stones ,nclude a board w~th a 95 percent v~tnance approval rate, conflicts of interest, and controversial!cases with indefensible decisions. Some communities' bo~ard members are able to participate in state-level or APA trainin{ programs, but Springville uses an unusual source. "Once or ~-wice a year, we require our board members to go through a g,sk~management tram,ng sess,on run by our liability insurance {roup," says Jo Evans. "They get very specific training on what t~ey can and cannot do, and the risk- management representativ~ puts them through different scenarios so they get some!practice. It is very effective when your liability insurance rejresentative stands up and says, 'You cannot do that. You cannc}t violate your own code.'" Many communities lack access to training programs but still prepare their board. Iowa ~ity has an in-house program run by Melody Rockwell board s[=cretary and associate planner. "Every member goes through an ~rientation upon appointment," she reports. "A workshop is h4d every two or three years to discuss protocol, due process, the ~uasi-judicial nature of the board, and the tmportance ofcle~ statements of findings of fact. The training works. It has been~ more than 10 years since an Iowa City ZBA case has gone to!the district court. Presqu,,e. Isle also has de~eloped a home-grown training regimen. The city solicitor' was concerned about the quality of the board's decisions for along time," says Jim Brown. "The code enforcement officer a~nd I dec~ded we had to take the initiative before we were f~ed with a heavy lawsuit." The officer consulted with the city solicitor to launch the program, he notes, adding that elected ~fficials "aren't necessarily interested in dotting the i's and cross{ng the t's of land-use documents, so the staff becomes responsit~le for protecting the city's interests." The Presque Isle ZBA'slrecent past is somewhat checkered. At one po,nt, says Browri, the ZBA was really pract,cmg de facto zoning because they ~onsidered each case without regard to the land-use code or theiexisting zoning." The code enforcement officer's effort~ have changed that. After the regular board meeting, Brown saysi "we discuss selected topics from the land-use code or state starujtes; legal topics such as takings; a smorgasbord of things. Thii,$' fosters an understanding of what the code enforcement offlc/~r and the planners have to contend with and what the specific language is that empowers the board. The focus on legal dxmens~Ons ~s very ~mportant. Brown says the board hak responded favorably to the staff's . input. "We have ~mpresse&upon them the magnitude of their Zoning Newt is a monthly newsletre/~published by thc American Planning Association. Subscriptions are availa{fie for $50 (U.S.) and $65 (foreign). Frank S, So. Acting Executive Direc{or; William R. Klein, Director of Research. Zoning News is produced at APA. Jir~ Schwab Editor Fay Dolnick, Scott Dvorak M~chellc Gregory, Sanlay Jeer, Mega:~ Lew~s, Doug Martin, Marya Morns, Marry Roupc, Laura Thompson, Rcporters~Cynthla Cheski, Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design and Production. ~ Copyright ©1996 byAmerican Plan~ing Association, 122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600, CMcago, IL 60603. The Amebean Plannmg Assoc~anon has he dquarters offices at 1776 Massachusetts Ave., ~r .W., Washington, DC 20036. - All rights reserved. No part of this p~blication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or ~echanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from thc American Planning Associa{ion. Prin~ed on recycled paper, including 5~-70% recycled fiber and 10% postconsumcr wastc. [ 4 decision making so that they now take their work very seriously," he reports. Brown is confident that the board is moving in the right direction. "They are involved in the process and they leave here with their eyes open," he says. "They are constantly calling things to our attention: 'Did you see the new sign?' or 'Do you know about the new garage?' I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see board members coming in on their own time requesting additional information about an issue." Brown insists that time invested in training is well spent. "It is really hard for a planner to guide an untrained board," he says. "As single voices in the. wilderness, we can't be effective. But when a board is educated and well prepared, the results can be profound. At one time variances were easily granted in Presque Isle, but they are now the exceptions and not the rule." Court Overturns Feedlot Ban A legislative battle is brewing in Iowa over livestock confinement operations, triggered in part by an Iowa Supreme Court decision in late October. The ruling, in Thompson v. Hancock County, No. 264/94-692 (Iowa October 25, 1995), overturned Hancock County's attempt to impose zoning regulations on a large hog confinement facility, holding that the Iowa code makes no distinction between such operations and family farms. Under Iowa law, agriculture is exempt from local zoning regulations. Although a later statute states that feedlots are subject to local zoning, the court held that the definition described only outdoor, open-air facilities and not confinement buildings. As a result, says Franklin County zoning administrator Robert Holze, his county board of supervisors has decided "not to fight any of these confinements coming in." Franklin County already has one such operation, he says, that could be considered commercial. Holze says Franklin County had been perceived as the strictest in the state on "holding the line" against such facilities. But the Iowa State Association of Counties is supporting legislation to create new definitions of livestock confinement operations that would allow counties to exercise land-use control over such facilities, says public policy analyst Robert Mulqueen. Otherwise, he sayi, ~we are losing control of our own destinies." In the meantime, some counties are experimenting with other ways of attacking the problems posed by commercial feedlots. Mulqueen says Humboldt County recently passed an ordinance that subjects such facilities to new public health regulations as an alternative to planning and zoning. As of mid-January, according to Mulqueen, two major bills were under consideration in the Iowa General Assembly. One, unveiled by state Sen. Burl Priebe, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, provides for some local control but does not appeal to ISAC because of complicated exemption formulas based on such factors as the percentage of livestock fed with grain raised within 50 miles of the farmer's land. Mulqueen sees this as posi.ng serious verification challenges for county officials. Another bill uses a matrix of"if-then" propositions to establish a series of regulatory expectations for feedlot operators. The battle lines have been drawn, and county officials can expect groups like the Iowa Pork Producers Association to oppose many provisions they will support. Jim Schwab