Winfield holds special session, appoints board of adjustment

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

WINFIELD ? Zoning is alive and well in Winfield following action by the city council Thursday night.

Meeting in special session, the council appointed five local citizens to the city?s board of adjustment/planning and zoning commission.

The appointees include Linda Sharp, Paul Beaty, Tom Rodruck, Jerry Fricke and Chris Finnell.

Finnell, who also serves as Winfield mayor, did not see serving on the board and commission as a conflict of interest. ?I am the mayor, but technically I am not on the council, I do not have a vote (on council). If this doesn?t fly, we will have another meeting,? Finnell said.

Council member Jan Walter said she did not have a problem with Finnell serving on the board and commission. ?We can approve it and if it is a problem, we can do something else.?

The council?s action Thursday night resulted from a discussion with Joe Buffington, Henry County director of planning and zoning, during the council?s regular monthly meeting on Sept. 14.

Buffington told the council that without a board of adjustment, it puts the community in a precarious position regarding zoning. ?You don?t have the tools in place (without a board of adjustment) to have zoning, period,? Buffington told the council at its previous meeting. ?You don?t have a board of adjustment so there is no due process. If you have challenges (to zoning ordinances), it could be a mess because you lost your ability to zone without a board of adjustment. In order to have zoning, you must have a board of adjustment.?

The city, Buffington said, could have the same citizens on both the board of adjustment and planning and zoning commission.

A board of adjustment is comprised of five members and handles zoning and variance matters.

Walter, who served as city clerk for three decades said the community hasn?t had a board of adjustment for at least a decade. She said the primary reason for the lack of a board of adjustment was finding people willing to serve on the board.

In the only other agenda matter, the council set a 4 p.m. hearing Monday, Oct. 12, for the board of adjustment to consider a variance for the Winfield Health Care and Retirement Center.

The council?s next meeting will also be on Monday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. in City Hall.