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| City shedding itself of responsibility in county |
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7/26/2013
By Tom Marshall
Senior Advocate writer
In an effort to rid itself of liability, the city of Mt. Sterling no longer wants the responsibility of providing planning services for areas in the county within a 5-mile radius of the city limits.
The county would then have the responsibility to create a planning commission or board to oversee planning in those areas.
The city has been providing those services for several years as part of an agreement with the county.
Mayor Gary Williamson told the Advocate that the city no longer wants the liability that comes with overseeing county subdivisions.
For example, Williamson cited subdivisions in which the developers have failed to complete streets or roads, prompting lawsuits from homeowners who expect the city to correct the problem.
“The city just feels like at this time that we don’t need to incur the liability that’s involved here because it’s not something we have control over,” he said.
The arrangement creates problems for the city building inspector because he has to deal with different standards for streets and roads whether they are in the city or county.
As part of the mayor’s plan, the city would turn over letters of credit that are meant to ensure proper installation of streets and roads in the affected area.
The move would not impact law enforcement or water and sewer service in this area, Williamson said. The city police dept. already has an agreement to help the sheriff’s office with law enforcement if the need arises.
Williamson has been working with City Attorney Crystal Brashear on a draft ordinance to remove the city from the responsibility of planning within the affected area. It is expected to be ready for presentation at the city council’s next meeting Aug. 20.
The change would become effective after a second reading and publication of the ordinance in the Advocate. That could take a couple of months.
The mayor has offered to work with the Fiscal Court to establish a planning commission or board for the county.
While the city has a planning and zoning commission, the county would likely adopt a measure for planning only since it does not have zoning, Williamson said.
Surveyor Rodney Jones serves as the county’s representative on the city planning and zoning commission.
There is no plan to adopt countywide zoning, however, county officials said.
Zoning is a hot button issue among county residents who rejected such a proposal at the ballot box in the 1990s. The proposal met with outrage from some residents, who felt the government has no business deciding what they can do with their property.
The difficulty for the county will be in creating planning without zoning, which normally go hand in hand, the mayor said.
Williamson has informed county Judge-Executive Wally Johnson of the city’s plan and county commissioners discussed the matter last week during a workshop.
Assistant County Attorney Nik Fegenbush said the Fiscal Court is monitoring the situation and stressed that the talks are preliminary at this point.
If the city were to choose to abandon the interlocal agreement that put the arrangement in place, county officials may have to look at adding to existing subdivision regulations, Fegenbush said.
The county may choose to include items such as lot size, setback lines and more, in addition to the current requirement that developers post bond to ensure the completion of streets and roads, he said.
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