By Lucky Kidd
McPHERSON, Kan. — A change in zoning for a property at the northeast corner of 16th Avenue and Mohawk Road was tabled by the McPherson County Commission Monday. Tim Cheatham requested a change in zoning for the property a half mile west of the I-135/Mohawk interchange to allow him to construct an RV storage facility and construction yard.
A protest petition had been filed against the zoning change, however Planning and Zoning Director Jon Kinsey said due to disqualifications it did not meet the state requirement that owners of 20 percent of lands sign it to be valid. If it had been valid, it would have required a unanimous vote of the Commission to approve the change in zoning.
While some signatures came from people living outside the designated protest area, a major reason for disqualification was that on properties that have multiple owners on the deed, all of the owners have to sign the petition for it to be valid. A number of the petitions were signed by just one owner.
Shanna Gibson-Henry of Cheney, a co-owner of one of the properties in the notification zone, said she never received legal notification of the hearing, and her name was listed wrong on the list of property owners. This will be taken up again at the Commission’s October 16th meeting. A factor in the decision to table was the absence of Commissioner David O’Dell from Monday’s meeting.
Commissioners did approve a recommended special use permit to allow the McPherson Police Department to build a storage and training building at their shooting range on BPU property near 17th and Moccasin Road. The range is also utilized by the McPherson County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the county and outside agencies. It also approved a variance to allow construction of an RV storage structure next to a garage at a residence near Maxwell and Iron Horse Roads.
Commissioners approved a $50,000 payment to Rural Fire District 4 in the Conway area and Rural Fire District 8 at Lindsborg for safety and equipment purchases, funded through ARPA funds the county allocated to each fire and ambulance district in McPherson County.
The Commission also appointed Shelby Shaw to fill an unexpired term on the McPherson County Planning Board and signed a letter of support on behalf of Disability Supports of the Great Plains for a transportation grant it is seeking.
