Riley County commission adopts new land development regulations; driveway standards

Riley County commissioners have adopted new land development regulations and driveway standards for the county.

These new regulations and standards will repeal and replace the current ones on Jan 1. Planning Director Amanda Smeller says there are some regulations that are carrying over.

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Public hearings were held with the planning board to get recommendations for the current changes. Smeller says most of the recommendations came from an attendee who has a professional background in landscape architecture.

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The new driveway standards are only for new residential developments and will not be retroactively enforced for current homes. Agricultural uses are exempt.

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The new standards were reviewed and put together by public works and emergency management with the intent of adequate access for EMS.

Another aspect of the regulations being addressed is the lot of records. Smeller says this isn’t anything new.

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The new regulations only go into more detail about what a lot of record is and expand the details that were not in the original regulations.

New regulations will also require a license to operate a short term rental in the county.

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Cox says the county does not have the authority to go after the renters who are in violation. The property owner will also be required to physically mark their property line so renters do not trespass onto other properties.

Members of the planning department will inspect the property to make sure all criteria is met before issuing the license.

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Cox says even though a property owner has a violation against them, this doesn’t mean their license is revoked.