photo by: Journal-World

The Douglas County Commission will hold their Wednesday meeting at the Douglas County Public Works building, 3755 E 25th St.

Douglas County commissioners will consider a couple of land use requests this week that would bring a landscaping business into compliance with the county’s rules.

On Wednesday, county commissioners will consider the requests for the 11.1-acre property at 1760 East 1100 Road. The property has a rural residence and an accessory building and is currently used by Schendel Landscaping.

However, according to memos in the commission’s agenda packet, the business has outgrown what is allowed under its current zoning. Its accessory building is being used for what the county classifies as heavy equipment storage, and some of the business’ equipment is being stored outside of the structures on the property, neither of which is permitted under the restrictions that currently apply to the property.

In order to get back into compliance, the business, which has 50 employees, is seeking a conditional use permit for its equipment storage. Because its current zoning category, known as Clustered Preservation, doesn’t permit that kind of use, it will also have to get its zoning changed to a less-restrictive category known as AG-2, or transitional agricultural, in order for such a permit to be granted.

Both the rezoning request and the conditional use permit will be considered by the commission on Wednesday.

The memos said that the changes wouldn’t increase traffic in the area, because the business was already operating on the site. However, some residents close to the property have reached out to the commission via email with concerns about the requests, including about the weight limit for roads leading to the property.

In other business, commissioners will:

• Consider awarding a contract to Bettis Asphalt & Construction Inc. to complete culvert replacements on a section of Route 1061, or East 2200 Road, from North 700 Road to North 900 Road, in the amount of $1,971,515.92.

The project includes the replacement of four road crossing culverts, relocation of a large roadside drainage channel, addition of paved shoulders through the North 800 Road intersection and a 2-mile pavement mill and overlay. According to a memo in the agenda, this work has been coordinated with future planned improvements on the Route 1061 corridor.

• Consider signing a contract with Wildcat Construction Co. in the amount of $252,194 for repairs and modifications to two existing bridges on North 1100 Road. One bridge crosses the Wakarusa River, and the other crosses over Coal Creek. Inspection reports have identified the need to rebuild the bearings supporting both bridges.

The County Commission’s business meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Public Works training room at 3755 E. 25th St. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.