County
land use plan gets better reception this time
by Ivan
Foley
Landmark editor
Around 50-60 people gathered at the Platte County Administration
Building in Platte City Thursday night to hear county
officials and their planning consultants present the final
draft of a land use plan for northern Platte County.
The plan, which was developed by the county with help
from planning consultants HNTB and significant input from
county residents at previous public meetings, is scheduled
to be adopted by the county commission later this year.
At a public meeting in February, many residents had expressed
dissatisfaction with a proposed minimum requirement of
lots of at least 40 acres in the Rural Density Policy
Area. That idea has been taken out of the final draft
and replaced with a recommended density of one dwelling
unit per 10 acres.
In other words, lots or tracts created in the Rural Density
Policy Area must be at least 10 acres or more in size.
An existing 20 acre trace could be subdivided into two
lots of 10 acres.
Allowed uses in the Rural Density Area would include
single family residential, farming operations and parks.
The plan allows for some flexibility in that lots can
be created less than the recommended 10 acre size if the
following conditions exist:
•The proposed lot will contain an existing single
family dwelling.
•The proposed lot will have a size of at least 80,000
square feet (1.8)
•The remaining acreage after the lot is created
is 10 acres or larger
•The proposed lot is not currently within a platted
subdivision.
The Rural Density Policy Area is proposed to cover all
but areas close to cities in northern Platte County. The
idea is to preserve agriculture areas while still allowing
the potential for growth.
"A lot of folks thought the earlier 40-acre restriction
would deter growth in the northern part of the county,"
Betty Knight, presiding county commissioner, said.
The goal of the final plan is to protect farms from encroaching
development, while only promoting urban style development
immediately adjacent to towns and cities.
Another policy area will be known as Low Density. Its
intention will be to encourage single family residential
development and limited commercial development in areas
that are along arterial roadways leading directly to I-29
or I-435. These areas will be adjacent to Suburban Density
Policy Areas. Development in Low Density Areas should
occur in a manner that allows future development that
is consistent with the density allowed within the Suburban
Density Policy.
One dwelling unit per one to five acres or one dwelling
unit per 10 or more acres will be recommended in the Low
Density Area. Allowed uses will include single family
residential, agricultural-related commercial, farming
operations, and parks.
Now that public meetings have been held to present the
final draft, Knight said the land use plan committee will
get back together within the next few weeks to make any
revisions. After that, the plan goes to the county's planning
commission, which will hold a work session, eventually
approve a final plan and send it on to the county commission
for final approval.
"We want to make sure everybody is on board with
it before we approve it. We'd like to have the entire
process wrapped up by the holidays," Knight said
this week.
The plan will serve as the guide for economic growth
and development of land in unincorporated Platte County
and will become the primary method to plan for long-term
development.
"It is essential for responsible growth," Knight
said.
Officials have emphasized that the county is not going
to rezone land just for the sake of meeting the plan.
Policy areas are plans, not zoning, and are to be used
as a guide for development.
Additional information about the land use plan project,
including historical growth maps, can be found on the
county's web site at www.co.platte.mo.us.
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