MOUNT VERNON — By a 19 to 1 vote, Knox County Regional Planning Commission members agreed to forward the draft of Knox County’s comprehensive plan to the county commissioners.
Liberty Township cast the dissenting vote.
RPC members tabled the vote at their February meeting, stating they needed more time to read the plan. The plan is referred to as Together Knox.
They also were concerned about a section suggesting studying the possibility of building codes.
At Thursday’s meeting, Milford Township’s Kris Caldwell requested elaboration on the recommendation to extend Sycamore Road.
“Improving it is one thing. Extending it is another,” she said.
She also asked how the plan could stand up in court if it is just a guide.
RPC Secretary Darrel Severns said township resolutions must be in accordance with a comprehensive plan.
“If you’re doing something in your zoning resolution, and the comprehensive plan that you’re basing your resolution on is 180 degrees away from what you’re doing, someone challenging that may have a case because it is completely opposed to what your comprehensive plan is saying,” he said.
Liberty Township
Trustee Joe Sturgeon said Liberty Township questioned the origin of the Mixed Rural designation.
He noted the township does not see commercial (retail) growth in its interior. Instead, residents see low impact and conservation as township characteristics.
Spurgeon said trustees felt increasing lot sizes countered farmland preservation. They wanted clarification on lot splits for conditional use as opposed to retaining the existing farm lot size.
They also voiced concerns that some of the traffic data is six years old, and the maps do not accurately reflect statistics or the population.
RPC members approved the draft on Thursday with the following provisions:
—Remove the section on building codes
—Update maps to include current Owl Creek Conservancy lands
—Update definitions for land trust and open space
—Fix typos
—Add a photo of manufacturing to the cover page
—Replace “extend Sycamore Road” with “improve Sycamore Road”
—Liberty Township’s comments be forwarded with the draft
Other planning commission actions
RPC members also voted to retain Roger Yarman (College Township) as chairman and elected Steve Bratton (Brown Township) and Marta Hill (Liberty Township) as vice chairman and treasurer, respectively.
Bratton will continue as Land Use chair.
Severns said Wendy Moeller of Compass Pointe Planning will submit a quote for reviewing, revising, organizing, and “beefing up” county subdivision regulations.
County Commissioner Barry Lester asked Severns to forward the quote to the Board of Commissioners to “see if we can throw some substance toward the project.”
Yarman spoke about his experiences as a “suit subject” testing space gear for NASA. He specifically tested gear for astronaut Neil Armstrong.
