The Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission took its first look at the City of Emporia’s updated zoning regulations Tuesday evening.
This is the latest draft of the regulations after they were separated from the county’s regulations last year. Following a brief presentation by City Zoning Administrator Joe Foster, commissioners engaged in conversations for nearly two hours on a variety of topics contained within the document.
The main talking point centered on residential infill and greenfield housing development. Per the original regulations, the minimum lot requirement was 9,000 sq ft, however, the new regulations propose a change to 6,500.
Concerns were brought up during the meeting as to whether or not this size could accommodate adequate development. Foster believes there is enough desire amongst developers for lots of this size.
Eventually, commissioner Chip Garrett suggested the city look into splitting the minimum requirements for residential lots based on the lot’s location within the city of Emporia.
Commissioners ultimately decided to continue their discussions on the document at their next regular meeting on Jul. 20. The next step in the process to finalize the document will be to hold a public hearing, that has tentatively been set for Aug. 17, after which time the document will go to the Emporia City Commission for final action.
The Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission will reconvene for its next monthly meeting inside the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium at 6 pm Jul. 20.
