County clarifies permit, private road issue

Douglas County commissioners this week were forced to take action on an issue originally decided 11 years ago.

Commissioners approved a resolution Wednesday that would allow the county to issue building permits to owners of existing houses that are on private roads in the county.

The county prohibited construction of a private street or road after 1998.

But according to county staff members, because of differences in interpretation of the new definition of a private road, numerous building permits were granted later for single-family residences on roads the commission had not formally approved.

The issue came up recently, and commissioners wanted to make sure the policy did not create problems for people who wanted to make improvements to their existing homes. So the county retroactively approved all existing private roads.

Linda Finger, the county’s planning resource coordinator, said it would likely affect less than 20 homes in the county. Commissioners Jim Flory and Mike Gaughan supported the resolution. Commissioner Nancy Thellman was absent.