Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

June 8, 2010

Subdivision regulations are final

By Vanessa Overholser - Staff Writer CNHI

June 8, 2010 —     The Subdivision Regulations and Manufactured Housing Regulations amendment document went through a second reading during a regular Rowan County Fiscal Court meeting Tuesday.

    Six months ago private landowners, building contractors, and farmers attended a Rowan County Fiscal Court meeting to discuss the validity of the first passed draft of the Subdivision Regulations document. Individual landowners and farmers had the impression that they were to adhere to the subdivision regulations which state that any persons selling three tracts of land must install infrastructure such as roads, street lights, sidewalks, and gutters in order for it to be a legal subdivision. Local residents who owned many acres of land were alarmed at the thought of having to add the infrastructure to their properties. Another concern was the landowners’ and farmers’ ability to give their land to their children.

    The Rowan County Fiscal Court hosted a special-called meeting at the Morehead Conference Center on February 6, 2010. The purpose of the meeting was for the Rowan County Fiscal Court, Morehead-Lakeview Heights Planning Commission, and the Morehead City Council to hear residents’ opinions and complaints concerning the ordinance. After the meeting took place, the fiscal court appointed a Subdivision Regulations committee to amend the Subdivision Regulations. The members of the committee were Cecil Watkins, Ray White, Harvey Pennington, Leon Smothers, Phillip Hollan, and Jim Caudill. The committee met once a week to work on the amendments to the regulations until April’s fiscal court meeting.

    During April’s meeting, the fiscal court members conducted the first reading of the subdivision regulations amendment draft. The purpose of the reading was to make sure all the elements in the document were accurate and legal. Court members passed the amendment unanimously.

    The court members met again on May 25 to conduct the second reading of the subdivision regulations. Rowan County Judge-executive Jim Nickell said the second reading went well.

    “The builders, the contractors, and the farmers were all satisfied that the language was changed and it was a unanimous vote that we had a second reading,” Nickell said.

    Now that the second reading of the Subdivision Regulations and Manufactured Housing Regulations document is amended it will go on record as a second reading of an ordinance for Rowan County, Nickell said.

    “There will be changes to ordinances 20 years from now,” he said. “As communities and counties grow and develop, they have changes.  So it will be in the book of ordinances. The planning commission will still be in charge of approving the plats for subdivisions. The developers are still going to be responsible for the infrastructure, the drainage, the blacktop, and making sure all of that is put in properly.”

    Nickell said he wanted everyone to understand who the regulations are for.

    “Farmers and private landowners are not involved in this,” he said. “If they want to give their land to every child they have, step-child they have, every sister they have, that has nothing to do with it. Nothing. This (subdivision regulations) is strictly for people who are selling lots for a profit making sure that roads and infrastructure is put in properly for people who have invested their money in property.”

    Nickell said he is pleased with the amended subdivision regulations draft.

“We knew there would be issues that would have to be addressed,” he said. “We addressed those issues and made changes to the subdivision regulations. You can’t please everyone.”

    When approached about the subject of manufactured home parks he said,  “That’s a part of it. We also had the second reading of the manufactured homes which is also in affect in the book of ordinances that will also be handled through the planning commission,” he said. “The same issues apply to manufactured home parks such as your blacktop roads, your street lights, your drainage, plus the number of homes you can put on a land mass.”

    The requirements for a mobile home park state that owners of mobile home parks are to place four mobile homes per acre, Nickell added.

    When a new existing mobile home park is found to be in violation, they will be subject fines and forfeitures, Nickell said.

 “Fines can go up to $500,” he said. “They can also be brought into court and put in jail for breaking the law.”

The planning commission must approve mobile home park plans before receiving a permit.

    Pre-existing mobile home parks are exempt from the new subdivision and manufactured homes regulations, he said.

    “There’s nothing that can be done about older mobile home parks,” he said. “Unfortunately they are grandfathered in. I wish we could. I intend to be more proactive with the health department in making sure that they will look better than they have in the past. My goal is to make this county look better.”