Time running out for City zoning requests

The July 19 Kimball City Council meeting began with the second public hearing regarding planned zoning changes within corporate limits and the surrounding one mile planning jurisdiction.

The proposed changes had some residents outside of city limits questioning the future of their unzoned, rural residential or agricultural properties.

City Administrator Daniel Ortiz offered an overview on the proposed changes to the zoning map and added that the city had received much feedback following the last meeting, including letters submitted to the board.

“The main goal we were trying to accomplish was to ensure that all of those parcels were zoned something. If you recall, a lot of those properties within our one-mile buffer map weren’t zoned at all,” he said. “After the last meeting there were concerns that some residents don’t want to see their properties changed from the existing zoning to the proposed zoning that had been recommended.”

Requests were taken into consideration and zoning plans were amended to accommodate those requests.

Kimball County Zoning administrator Sheila Newell applauded the City’s efforts to update zoning and improve consistency on the maps, however she brought into question some of the definitions used in the plan.

“We all know that Kimball County has been designated as a livestock-friendly county and I think tweaking the definitions to be consistent with the state and the county would benefit us all,” she said. “We need to be consistent in the agriculture industry and I know that you are focused totally, 100 percent on city and ag is out there further away from the limits. I want to commend you for increasing the rural residential acreage from two to three acres, it is a start. I believe that the district you are defining for rural residential needs to continue to border or join the city limits so all residences inside or just outside the city limits are identified as rural residential.”

Ortiz added that some changes will likely occur before the final passage of the ordinance.

“There will have to be some individual parcels that will have to be corrected,” Ortiz said.

The final public hearing and reading of Ordinance 736 will occur at the August 16 Kimball City Council meeting.