Planning commission back on track

The Saratoga Planning Commission met Oct. 13 and announced that Kent Smith is now officially the zoning officer for the town. The commission is also officially seeking two new commissioners who would serve five-year terms.

Rory Grubb, chairman of the commission, announced that there is now a Thursday deadline for action items to be presented at commission meetings. Grubb noted that any potential issues must be presented to the department of public works on the Thursday before a planning commission meeting so that the information can be distributed to commission members on the Friday before a meeting.

The commission also discussed two potential ordinances and the wording and intent of business district zoning code.

The fencing ordinance that is being developed was discussed after mayor Ed Glode said questions about the ordinance came up during its reading at the town council meeting. “A lot of the comments we got last week were ‘What’s wrong with the old code?’” Glode said.

The ordinance is not meant to change anything except the maximum height of the fence and is intended to make the permitting process easier and less expensive, according to Grubb.

Chief of Police, Thomas Knickerbocker, noted that there are already fences in town that are out of compliance with existing code and would not comply with the new fencing ordinance. Knickerbocker suggested non-complying fences be reviewed on a case by case basis. This would include fences that are more than 60 percent damaged in an accident that do not comply with code.

Discussion of the home occupation ordinance revolved around removing language for non-permitted uses and resubmitting the document to the town attorney for review.

A discussion of residential uses within the business district was tabled until more formal language is developed.

Cindy Wallace, Executive Director of the Carbon County Economic Development Corporation, was present at the meeting to provide counsel on development grants that the town may be able to take advantage of. Commission member Karl Smith had recently attended a Wyoming Business Council grant meeting. Karl Smith noted that there is approximately $15 million in WBC grant funding that will be available this year.

The suggestion was made that funding be obtained to prepare the abandoned water plant area along the river for future business development. Wallace explained that grant funding could pay for the demolition of buildings and preparation of the site including utilities and landscaping. However, grant funding could not be used to move existing town buildings or to construct new ones.

Mayor Glode acknowledged the availability of the funding but advised that waiting for the master plan to be completed would be best before seeking any grant funding.

The next regular meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission will be at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 a the Saratoga Town Hall.