Area planning board certifies Edna Mills rezoning request to commissioners

Planning staff told the board the property in Edna Mills had been converted to a single-family dwelling though it remained zoned B1, and is largely inside the mapped floodway with a septic system last repaired in 2006. Staff said the Clinton County comprehensive plan designates the area for low-density residential uses and recommended certifying the rezoning request to R1 to legalize the existing residential use and reduce the risk of the property becoming blighted.

When asked, staff explained that if the structure were destroyed by flood or fire it might be possible to rebuild only with state DNR approval and elevation of any replacement structure to meet flood-elevation standards. Staff added the petitioner had tried to sell the property as a business without success and noted that legalizing residential use could make the site marketable to buyers.

A board member moved to send a favorable certification to the county commissioners to change the property from B1 to R1; another member seconded the motion. The board recorded a roll-call vote with four yes votes and no recorded opposition, and staff said it will prepare paperwork to present the certification at the county commissioners’ next meeting. Staff also advised the petitioner that the county commissioners have up to 90 days to act and encouraged attendance at that meeting to answer any questions.

The board’s action is a certification of the planning board’s recommendation to the county commissioners; it does not itself change zoning. The county commissioners will consider the rezoning on their schedule and are the legislative body with final authority.