Residents press Marion County on zoning petition, annexation and homeless encampment

Several residents used the commission's public forum on May 11 to press county officials on land-use and community-safety concerns.

Tom Rittenrow of Florence told the board he and other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit claiming the county improperly invalidated their protest petition and referenced KSA in his remarks; he alleged the zoning department miscounted property owners on the petition and accused the zoning director of a potential conflict tied to renting trailer space to wind-farm workers. "Our lawsuit argued that the county illegally invalidated our protest petition," Rittenrow said, and he reported that an expert review found the petition should have met the required protest acreage threshold.

Planning and zoning staff and other commissioners responded that they had received some of the evidence and that the county counselor had been asked for an opinion. Commissioners declined to name or disparage county employees in open session.

A resident identifying as Terry Hill raised concerns that property near Hillsborough had been annexed without the owner receiving notice and asked about floodplain mapping; staff said floodplain maps are accepted from FEMA and that plats are filed with the register of deeds, and offered to investigate the specific parcel and notify the resident of findings.

Arlene Sticker reported a homeless encampment at French Creek Cove near the reservoir and expressed concern about secrecy and local impacts. She asked whether courts had been contacted and encouraged the county to address the encampment in a way that balanced community and humanitarian concerns.

These items were raised during the public forum and elicited staff commitments to follow up with the county counselor, to verify records, and to check applicable floodplain mapping and notice procedures.