County staff outline bids and construction schedule for Keith's project, new short-term rental spacing rule

Riley County planning staff updated the commission on several development and land-use items at the March 9 meeting, describing procurement timing for a locally significant capital project, new short-term rental rules and pending code amendments.

Bids and schedule: Amanda West (S9) said bids for the Keith’s project are due March 17, with a bid opening on March 19 and a project award targeted for March 26. Staff reported the construction window will be approximately 14 months once the contractor mobilizes, and Amanda emphasized plans for resident communications, including door hangers and regular schedule updates.

Short-term rental regulation: West told commissioners short-term rental (STR) regulation amendments have been published and now include a 500-foot minimum separation requirement between STR units on the same street; staff will not accept applications that would violate that spacing or that present parking issues. The county will not take application fees for permits that cannot be processed due to these rules.

Driveway and sanitary-code work: West also summarized planning-board review of proposed driveway-standard language (including changes to review authority so emergency services or the county engineer/designee may perform required inspections) and noted sanitary-code amendments are being prepared while the county monitors the state’s Bulletin 4.2 update to avoid conflict; public hearings with the planning boards are planned for April before the commission takes final action.

What comes next: staff will return with bid-opening results later in March; public hearings for code amendments are expected in April and will precede any commission vote.

Attribution: Amanda West (S9) presented planning updates and scheduling details.