| Newton
Planning Commission picks absent member as new chair
By Lisa Rose
January 26, 2007 | NEWTON -- A new planning commission
chairperson for 2007 was elected Thursday at the first
commission meeting of the year.
Discussion then followed about renewing dog permits,
secondary water share options, and new numbering systems
for both houses and building permits.
A 5-0 vote in his absence elected Roland Griffin,
a three-year commission member, to the position of chairperson.
He replaced MaRee Bird, who served the last two terms.
"I was stressed all day thinking, if I have to do
it one more year!" Bird said.
Griffin was unanimously praised by fellow commission
members for his qualifications to be the chairperson.
His experience in development and construction has
familiarized Griffin with town codes, zoning and ordinances,
said Gene Dayley, commission member.
"He is very knowledgeable with the water and the city
and with all the things we’re going through right now,"
agreed Gaylen Maughan, commission member.
Griffin’s expertise comes at the right time. The commission
needs to focus on enforcing the many town ordinances
rewritten in the last two years, said Karla Ferguson,
town recorder and planning commission secretary.
Later in the meeting, the option to repeal the secondary
water share ordinance was discussed. The ordinance currently
requires a buyer who is seeking a building permit to
own a private water share of the Newton Reservoir. The
commission gave the power to town council to research
and vote on repealing the ordinance.
Consideration to repeal this ordinance comes from
the lack of water, hence, a lack of water shares available.
The shortage makes the ordinance difficult to enforce,
said Dayley.
The secondary water share ordinance is not the only
one that needs adjusting. The commission discussed plans
to revise the house numbering ordinance.
The numbering system lacks uniform and creates confusion.
The town was originally laid out on an angle to the
Salt Lake Meridian, explaining current problems with
surveying roads and plots, said Dayley.
Utah House of Representative Bill 160 brings another
numbering system change, not just to Newton, but statewide.
Beginning Jan. 1, the state requires that building permit
numbers be standardized. These 12-digit numbers will
make reviewing documents easier and will "stream-line
research for court cases," said Ferguson.
Under the bill, only new building permits will comply
with the numbering system, meaning that existing buildings
are not affected, she said.
"We have one of the simpler transitions to that system
than most cities," she said. "Some of the bigger cities
have complicated systems."
MS
MS |
