The Bowyer Community Building will be a busy place Wednesday.
The building is the site of the Lyon County Planning and Appeals Board’s monthly meeting, which typically doesn’t gain much attention — but then most Planning Board meetings don’t deal with possibly recommending a controversial set of zoning regulations.
The meeting starts at 7 pm. Lyon County Zoning and Floodplain Administrator Sam Seeley tells KVOE News the draft, now in its fourth version, eliminates the Metropolitan Area around Emporia. It also brings county code in line with state law, and it streamlines the process for basic zoning changes.
Work on the zoning regulations has been ongoing since 2017 after the city-county comprehensive plan was reviewed and adjusted. Opponents have sharply criticized the plan as it has moved forward, and they plan to have petitions available at the meeting — one set for Emporia residents, another for Lyon County residents outside the Emporia city limits.
The board could recommend the document as presented, recommend the document with changes or decide against recommending it. Seeley says concerns about the new regulations turning Lyon County into a “homeowners association” or concentrated decision-making power for him and City Zoning Specialist Joe Foster are not valid.
The meeting will air live on the Lyon County Kansas Planning/Zoning and Floodplain Management Facebook page. Seeley encourages residents to send questions for the meeting by emailing Seeley at sseeley@lyoncounty.org or Foster at jfoster@emporia-kansas.gov.
