Spearfish council approves $152,675 contract to rewrite land development code

The Spearfish City Council voted to approve a $152,675 professional services contract with Clarion and Associates LLC to rewrite Title 15 of the city code, the land development (zoning and subdivision) regulations.

Peter Wysocki, the citys community development director, told the council Clarion was selected through a competitive RFP and that the work would include rewriting zoning chapters, updating land-use definitions, adding graphics and flowcharts, and running stakeholder engagement. "Clarion specializes in land development codes," Wysocki said, and the firms scope includes project management, steering-committee facilitation and multiple draft reviews for the planning commission and council.

Wysocki said the rewrite typically takes about 18 months and emphasized that a consultants capacity shortens the calendar and preserves staff time for core services: "To pull away staff from our core services at this point, I think will be a disservice to our customers," he said, arguing that in-house work could take several years. He recommended a steering committee made up of design professionals, builders, partner organizations and two council members to provide ongoing review.

Council discussion focused on timeline and whether in-house staff could do the work. After debate, the motion to approve the contract passed on roll call with one dissent: Hafner, Oregon, Beakers, Myers and Ralph voted yes; Claire Beak voted no.

Council nominated Larry to serve on the steering committee and asked staff to return with a schedule of outreach and public hearing dates as the project moves forward.