St. George comprehensive plan
Leroy Bailey, Pottawatomie County resident, expressed concern to the county commission Monday over the City of Saint George’s comprehensive plan.
He says he is concerned that the plan is going to change zoning designations and increase certain costs.
“It looks like a fair plan,” Bailey said. “However, we worry about a thing called taxation. What’s it going to do to us? Is it going to jack our taxes up?”
Stephan Metzger, county planner, explained that the plan will not change zoning or increase taxes.
He also explained that the plan will not tell land owners what to do with their property.
“Let’s say your heirs or somebody decides ‘you know, I want to rezone this to residential and maybe put one or two houses on here,'” Metzger said. “What this comp plan does is, in the event of a rezoning, if the area is in the comp plan as residential, then that area is appropriate for residential.”
While the issue was brought to the county commission, officials explained that City of Saint George is in charge of the comprehensive plan.
New business development east of Manhattan
The Pottawatomie County Commission approved a final plat for Taussig Landscaping at the southeast corner of the Hwy. 24/Appleyard Rd. intersection.
The decision was not without hesitation, however, as commissioners discussed how the plat will fit into future development, specifically access roads.
While the commission suggested having the developer put in an easement, Gregg Webster, Pott. County zoning administrator, says that may be difficult to do.
“It’s a little difficult to make him put in an easement to something that we don’t know how it’s going to develop,” Webster said.
He also says the burden of property access in this case largely falls on the developer, not the county.
“If they land lock themselves, there’s no requirement that the county has to do anything,” Webster said. “We’re not building roads here. If somebody wants to develop, they have to find a way to get a road to their property.”
While the location of the plat is currently in a lightly developed area, it is near growing neighborhoods.
Transportation and Thoroughfare Plan
The Pottawatomie County Commission is pursuing an agreement with Bartlett and West worth up to $90,000 to carry out the Transportation and Thoroughfare Plan.
This plan will help the county create road-creation policies and gather information on costs associated with road construction.
Commissioner Pat Weixelman expressed concern about the information-gathering side of the plan, saying there is not a go-to source of information when it comes to certain parts of projects.
According to Metzger, the plan will help the county identify costs associated with potential road projects, but will not necessarily show how the project should be done.
