Follow Us 
Related News
Current Poll
| Zoning/codes on ag land contradictory |
 |
 |
 |
| Opinion | |||
| Written by Bob Harrington | |||
| Wednesday, 21 October 2009 08:00 | |||
|
Agricultural producers in Miami County find they have a lot of red tape to cut before they can complete building projects on agricultural land. Even though the county has adopted state agricultural zoning which, more or less, does not require any building fees and provides for certain free building permits for agricultural use structures, agricultural producers may soon find out a building code adopted by the Miami County Commission supersedes the agricultural zoning regulations. Randy Kitchen, an agriculture producer west of Osawatomie and a member of the county planning board, ran into a stumbling block recently when he constructed an outbuilding, wired it for electricity and then requested the electrical company to hook up his building. The electrical company refused because Kitchen did not have a county building permit for wiring the structure.  Other members of the planning board are David Wilson, David Hayden, Jim Bracken, Phil Elliott, Danny Gallagher, Bill Harris, Hannes Poetter and Ray Wrisley. Kitchen’s recourse apparently is to appeal to the Miami County Building Code Board of Appeals consisting of Eric A Drews, Cass W.E. Douglass, Morris Schroeder, John Kennedy, Rob George, Ken Butler, Frank Waterman and Greg Stallbaumer. Charlene Weiss, planning director for the county, said the staff makes recommendations for certain fees, and the county commission passes resolutions to enforce the fee collection and compliances. Mike Davis is the county building official. Jim Wise, chairman of the Miami County Commission, said it is the thought of some of the commission members to review the agricultural building codes, to clarify or perhaps prevent future misunderstandings between agricultural zoning and county building codes pertaining to agriculture. “We need to see where the building codes fit in with our tight money situation, or if we have stepped over the bounds,” he said. Unless other agriculture land owners keep pushing for change and clarification it is probable nothing will be accomplished and the bagful of contradictions between agricultural zoning and county building codes will continue to exist and confusion will reign. Until then, those wanting to build on their agriculture land will have to rely on information and instructions they receive from those in charge of the county building codes, and, yes, pay fees not mentioned in the county agriculture zoning regulations.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 671 Trackback(0)
Comments (0)
 Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
