Belfield zoning board mindful of the future

Talk about it

As city officials continue to discuss the implementation of new zoning codes for Belfield, council members maintain that consideration for the well-being of future generations is key.

Planning and zoning committee member Peggy O’Brien was present during the City Council meeting Tuesday night at Memorial Hall, where the subject of zoning was briefly addressed. As new zoning codes are being drafted, she said changes to be brought about in Belfield must be applicable not only to the town’s current population, but to residents in years to come.

“We have to have controlled growth,” O’Brien said of the town’s growing population.

According to O’Brien, that involves making sure that new zoning drafts will be effective for the community for as long as 20 to 50 years.

“We’re being very thorough,” she said.

In August of last year, O’Brien also spoke at a City Council meeting on behalf of community members. She raised concerns regarding control over regulations involving illegal hook-ups for water and sewer, truck usage and construction practices in Belfield.

During the same August meeting, zoning board president and City Council member Harold Kubischta reminded people that it has been difficult to enforce ordinances recently, mostly because many were introduced in the 1970s and do not apply as well today.

Following the meeting Tuesday, Kubischta said that Belfield has a strong influx of new people, which makes it difficult to organize areas such as housing, industrial parks and mobile home parks. He also mentioned the zoning board is still waiting on a final draft of revisions.

A zoning meeting has not yet been scheduled for January.

In addition to having a sense of control, council member Jeff Iverson also feels that a new zoning layout should be easy for future residents to follow.

“I think it just needs clarity,” Iverson said.

Iverson also agrees that population growth adds to the pressure to come up with an applicable set of codes.

“(People) are moving in quite a bit faster than we can control the growth,” Iverson said.

In the end, council members like Iverson just want to make sure changes go as smoothly as possible for the community.

“The industry needs the people, and the people need a place to live,” Iverson said.

Tags: planning and zoning committee, memorial hall, news, belfield, growth, population, codes