Minutes

Perkins County Planning Commission

Meeting Monday September 13, 2010

7:30 p.m.

Perkins County Courthouse

District Courtroom

Grant, Nebraska

1. The Perkins County Planning Commission held a meeting on Monday, September 13, 2010, at the Perkins County Courthouse District Court room in Grant, Nebraska. Chairperson Dennis Demmel called the meeting to order at 7:36 p.m. Roll call found the following members present: Dennis Demmel, Bev Hendricks, Deb Osler, Bob McCormick, David Jantzen, Cathy Harden, and Tom Tines. Also present was Zoning Administrator Chris Loeffler, Perkins County Attorney Rick Roberts, Jack Quinlivan, the Keith County Zoning Administrator, Karl Elmshaueser, and numerous members of the public. Not present was Joe Krajewski.

2. Chris gave certification of publication of the meeting that was published in the Grant Tribune Sentinel’s September 2, 2010 edition. The Open Meetings Act was pointed out on the south wall of the room. Chairman Demmel went over the agenda briefly.

3. Chairman Demmel asked for comments on the July 19, 2010 minutes. It was moved by Tom and seconded by Bob to dispense with the reading and approve the minutes of the July 19, 2010 meeting as presented. Roll call vote: Cathy Harden aye; David Jantzen aye; Bob McCormick aye; Bev Hendricks aye; Deb Osler aye; Tom Tines aye; Dennis Demmel abstain. Motion carried.

4. Val Foster arrived at 7:40 p.m.

5. Chris gave her Zoning Administrator’s report, attached to these minutes as document number 01-09132010. She then gave a power point presentation of the NACO Zoning Administrator’s workshop she attended.

6. Next on the agenda was old business of Private airports/Airport Language/ Map of Airport Layover. The proposed layover is attached to these minutes as document number 02-09132010. Chris gave a recap of the different zones, and the footages of where they lay, found in the minutes of the 7/19/10 meeting. She told about the concern she has of not requiring zoning permits for agricultural uses, and the possibility of a grain elevator leg going in close to a runway, and no way to stop it without the requirement of agricultural buildings getting zoning permits. There was considerable discussion about the proposed layover. One question posed was if the layover was adopted, could a building that existed in the layover before it went into effect be replaced? It would be a non-conforming use, are we going to allow it to be replaced? The issue of opting out of the layover was brought up, too. Could an airport owner opt out of the layover, and still use his runway? What about airports that are no longer being used? Should they be included in the layover?

6. Bev Hendricks mentioned how they lost a contract with Noble Gas because of their layover. It could be possible in the future for someone to sue the county because of lost revenue; whether by losing the right to have a wind tower or cell tower, etc. on their land.

7. Cathy Harden mentioned she talked with Mr. Russ Gasper of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics. She asked him if any other county in Nebraska offered protection of private runways, and he knew of none. She also mentioned that Iowa doesn’t have any protection of private runways, either. She confirmed what Chris had in her report that Mr. Gasper does not recommend protection of private runways because it discourages use of the public airport, and thousands of tax dollars have been spent on the airport, and it should be supported.

8. Dana Cornelius spoke and said his concern is that if a tower would come in close to his runway (of which he’s spent many years and dollars on), he would no longer be able to fly from it.

9. Karl Elmshaeuser spoke about the issue. He said that it’s the job of the Planning Commission to protect the public airport, but is it in the public’s best interest to protect private airports? He feels a Conditional Use permit is preferred over a layover district. He also mentioned the inability to enforce something at the local level that is normally done by Federal agencies (referring to the FAA). He also mentioned the fact that when a pilot lands on a private strip, it’s at their own risk. This is widely understood by pilots, and it’s their responsibility to land safely, it should not be placed on the County. He asked the pilots what their main concern was, and they responded that they are concerned about a tower or other tall building being built to make their runways unsafe.

10. Jack Quinlivan spoke. He suggested that the issue be solved by addressing it through tower regulations, wind generation regulations etc. rather than a layover. In this way, the pilots concerns could be met, and the issue of liability for the County could be met. The group seemed pleased with this idea.

11. In summary, 1. We will need to still add a provision for private airstrips in the new language. 2. Ag Buildings will need to get permits in order to provide for airport protection, with a fee schedule change to include penalties for no application. 3. We’ll need to provide for some way to identify where existing airports are.

12. In conclusion, it was the consensus of the group that Jack Quinlivan and Chris Loeffler would start reviewing the Zoning Regulations to see where changes need to be made to address private airports and the various uses that might affect them. The regulation committee will need to meet to review the issue, too. Bev Hendricks was noted to be the chairperson of this committee.

13. Ag Buildings/Requiring Permits was next on the agenda. Without the requirement of agricultural buildings to get a zoning permit, it is impossible to protect airstrips. Since this topic had been discussed in tandem with the airport layover discussion, there was group consensus that this needs to be added to the Zoning Regulations.

14. The group talked about the agenda item “Comprehensive Plan/ Community Surveys”. Chris told the group that a hard copy of the survey that was conducted in conjunction with Community Meetings in March was in the Planning Commission packets. It would be shared with the various City Councils in the County. An online link to the survey can also be shared, so that the public can view the results. She had visited with Ann Burge of the Southwest Community Betterment Corporation about the next step regarding Comprehensive Plan Updates. Ann recommended each member review the surveys, see what issues stand out most to them, and then make sure that those issues are addressed in the Comprehensive Plan. Jack Quinlivan suggested how to do this. For instance, if the issue brought out is “retain the youth”, we could add a conditional use listing to allow for a recreational center, a theatre, etc. If the public identified more tourism, we could make listings for things that would promote tourism: hunting lodges, etc. He also mentioned that we can address some of the concerns in our goals and objectives section of the Comprehensive Plan. Dennis noted that Deb Osler was the chairperson for the Comprehensive Plan update committee, and that he would make her in charge of getting that committee together to work on it.

15. Wind Generation regs were next on the agenda. Chris had given copies of Chase and Keith County’s regulations in the Planning Commission’s packets. Jack Quinlivan, the Keith County Zoning Administrator, who is also our consultant, gave a brief overview of their regulations. He spoke about the requirement they made of putting the burden of proof on the wind generation people to prove they had approval for the towers from various agencies before applying to the County. The issues are slightly different in Keith County due to Lake McConaughy, and the Platte Rivers flowing through their county. However, it is advisable to have our counties regulations be similar to Keith County’s because of the way wind farms cross county lines in many instances. Chris mentioned the fact that some technology is being developed to address some concerns with wind generation. There’s a company who’s developed a way to turn off the red blinking lights on the turbines until they sense an aircraft nearby. She wondered if there could be a way to turn off the turbines for aerial applicators to stay safe while spraying? Wind Generation regulations also need to address the private airports somewhere, so that turbines will not be placed too close to existing private airports.

16. The next meeting will be scheduled later, when the various committees have had a chance to meet, or as called by the Chairman.

17. Chairman Demmel adjourned the meeting at 10:34 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

_______________________________________

Val Foster, Secretary