City given zoning map it can approve

The public hearing for the new proposed Zoning Map was held on October 12, 2009. All of the concerned parties were present, including the full Sac City Council, Mayor, City Administrator, one Planning and Zoning board member, and the property owners whose properties are affected.

Other than City Administrator Adam Ledford noting that there were no written or oral communications prior to the hearing, the hearing opened and closed to the sound of approving silence. The City Council passed the first reading of ordinance 2009 – 214 entitled “An ordinance establishing a zoning map for the incorporated City of Sac City, Sac County, Iowa” (see below)

The second of three readings of this ordinance will take place at the November 9, 2009 Sac City Council meeting.



Some thoughts regarding this entire process:

1. This map was the subject of two years of controversy caused mainly by the Sac City Planning and Zoning board’s inability to communicate effectively with the public. (They did not, in FACT, communicate at all with the public and there is some question about whether the affected property owners would have even known that a big change was coming had the City Administrator not directly mailed a letter to those property owners… a duty that should be the Planning and Zoning board’s responsibility, not the City Administrator’s.)

2. The reappointment of president of the Sac City Planning and Zoning Board, Shirley Phillips is up for consideration on January 2, 2010.

Because of the actions of the planning and zoning board under her guidance, this entire process was a much nastier than it needed to be. Had Shirley Phillips made it a point to get all of the affected landowners involved with this project two years ago, she would have saved all of us time and money, and Sac City would have had an updated zoning map WITHOUT the affected landowners having to go through the expense of hiring a lawyer to protect their property rights.

Because of the hostility she seemed to demonstrate towards landowners when referring to the progress that was being made in negotiating an agreement on the south side of town, I feel the Sac City Council should strongly consider appointing a Planning and Zoning board member in her place who has the ability to exercise a more citizen friendly approach to Sac City’s zoning challenges. Perhaps they could appoint to the Planning and Zoning board somebody who is willing to seek guidance from Sac City’s landowners... After all, we all have to live here together.

This could actually work in favor of the City Council, reputation wise; it would lower the level of hostility undeservedly aimed at them for the last generation’s form of “governance through secrecy” which seems to be policy carried on by the Planning and Zoning Board with the current board make-up.