On Tuesday, about 50 people joined online and in person for Gallatin County’s first of three listening sessions about potential zoning reform. The session presented eight possible paths to move forward including the status quo and solicited additional ideas.
Chief Planning Officer Sean O’Callaghan says the current zoning framework has been in place since the 70s and is outdated and inefficient.
“Anyone who has even been here for a short amount of time is quick to recognize our community is very different today than it was back in the 1970s,” O'Callaghan said.
Currently, the county has 22 zoning districts that all operate independent of each other. Many of the districts were initiated by residents in response to proposed uses they thought would impact their quality of life such as methane mining, a ski resort, and a gravel pit.
Planning staff expect the trend in citizen initiatives to continue if the county does nothing to address its current piecemeal system.
74% of privately owned land in the county remains unzoned, leaving the county without a framework for approving uses.
Many of the residents who spoke live outside current zoning, such as Cathy Cooper.
“I live in the unzoned part of the county and I’m so concerned when I see things just mushrooming up around the county eating up good valuable farmland,” Cooper said.
Many others shared concerns about unpredictable building and water usage.
Possible reform options range all the way from no zoning to creating one consolidated countywide zoning.
The county says implementation of any of the ideas would include much more public engagement, but the initial listening sessions can better inform which options the county investigates further.
To learn more about the process you can visit https://envisiongallatin.com/
Future listening sessions will be held March 13th and March 25th.
