BUCHANAN CITY ADOPTS RULE REQUIRING PUBLIC HEARING PRIOR TO ORDINANCE ADOPTION

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN – Buchanan City Commissioners have adopted new rules and procedures to make sure there is transparency and time for public comment when ordinances are adopted or amended.
That action came at last week’s Buchanan City Commission meeting ahead of at least two major ordinance proposals in coming weeks and months. The commission will be taking up the proposed short term rental ordinance later this month and an updated zoning ordinance later this fall.
City Clerk Kalla Langston-Weiss told commissioners that the new rules codify the procedures to follow when adopting a new ordinance or an ordinance amendment. She said previously there weren’t formal rules in place on passing such ordinances, including whether or not to hold public hearings.
The changes to the commissioner rules and procedures require a proposed ordinance or ordinance amendment to be introduced and a public hearing set. The public hearing may not be held sooner than 14 days after the publication of the ordinance or ordinance amendment summary.
Langston-Weiss said another public hearing will be required if the commission makes any changes to the proposed ordinance or ordinance amendment from what was introduced.
She noted that the previous rules and procedures required first and second readings of ordinances or ordinance amendments but didn’t necessarily require public hearings. She said the overall goal is to be transparent and to make sure people have the opportunity to give feedback.
Commissioners agreed. “Policies and procedures are extremely important to this commission,” Mayor Mark Weedon said. “The rules seemed simple but could easily be misrepresented. These new rules will protect the community from this point forward.”
The change to the commissioner rules and procedures approved last week resulted in a delay on action on the new short term rental ordinance. A public hearing on that ordinance had originally been scheduled for last week’s meeting but will now be held Aug. 25 to comply with the new rules and procedures.
The proposed short term rental ordinance itself was discussed at last week’s meeting. City Manager Tony McGhee said the goal of the new ordinance is to limit where short term rentals can operate and protect the community, the school district and local housing at the same time.
The proposed ordinance was developed after putting a moratorium in place earlier this year and looking at what other communities have done as well as what state law allows. In Buchanan, short term rentals will be allowed mainly in the downtown corridor and will not be allowed in single family residential districts.
McGhee said that the 15 existing short term rental properties in the city will be grandfathered in and that another 15 short term rentals will be allowed in non single family residential neighborhoods.
Commissioner Dan Vigansky noted that the city’s planning commission approved the proposed ordinance earlier this summer. He initially was against it because he is against regulating people’s use of their own property but changed his mind when he learned how too many short term rentals can hurt the school district and the housing supply.
He said that it is a commercial enterprise and is different than just renting out a room in a home. “For every home we lose to this, we lose school kids,” he said.
Weedon noted that short term rentals have overwhelmed some other communities in the area and Buchanan wants to get ahead of the problem locally. “This is designed to protect the schools, the community and encourage young families to live in Buchanan,” he said.
In a different matter involving rental properties, McGhee told commissioners that the new longterm rental housing ordinance passed earlier this spring is ready to be implemented. He said letters are going out to property owners in early August with inspections getting started soon after that.
In reports, commissioners gave updates on the boards they serve on. Commissioner Raquell George reported on the Buchanan Area Recreation Board’s activities and said work is progressing on a new disc golf course at Centennial Park on the city’s south side. She said work has been delayed due to having to buy the baskets from a new company but said the golf course should be open in September.
Weedon reported on Downtown Development Authority activities. He said a new marketing subcommittee has been set up to work for the best interests of the downtown. “Our streets may look like the 1800s right now, but [what] will transpire in coming months will put Buchanan on the map,” he said.