photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County commissioners will hear about plans to update the county’s zoning and subdivision rules on Wednesday, starting with smaller administrative changes before addressing broader land-use and development policies.

The county is planning to take a “phased approach” to updating its zoning and subdivision regulations. The first phase will focus on smaller administrative and technical changes that can be made relatively quickly, such as clarifying application requirements, road standards, parking rules, setbacks and variance criteria.

County staff is expecting to bring those changes forward to the County Commission individually or as consolidated amendment packages over the next several months.

This work follows after county commissioners entered into an agreement with consulting firm Clarion Associates to complete a diagnostic review of the current zoning and subdivision regulations. This review focused on County Code Chapter 11: Subdivision Regulations and County Code Chapter 12: Zoning and Land Use Regulations.

While the review did not produce a new zoning ordinance, it assessed how effectively the current regulations are working and outlined a roadmap for future updates.

The second phase of work will focus on broader land-use policy questions identified in the county’s diagnostic review. The findings from the diagnostic review were presented to county commissioners in July, as the Journal-World reported.

That work could include restructuring zoning districts, creating a future land-use map, updating development standards and considering how growth should align with infrastructure and public services.

The county also plans to continue working with Clarion Associates to develop a more detailed scope and timeline for the second phase of work. County staff will be returning with that plan at a later date, and staff want public input to be incorporated into discussions about major issues such as zoning changes, growth patterns, agricultural and environmental policies and future land-use planning.

To implement the recommendations in the diagnostic review, it involves a “major undertaking,” the Zoning and Land Use Diagnostic Review said. County commissioners allocated $300,000 in the 2027 budget to go towards rewriting the county’s code. During budget hearings, staff estimated that the rewrite could take at least two years to complete.

County commissioners will not take action on any changes to the county’s code on Wednesday, as the presentation is for informational purposes only. Any changes to the county’s code will be reviewed and voted on by the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission and the Douglas County Commission.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, COMMISSIONERS WILL:

• Consider approving a policy providing standards to ensure that web content and applications used by the public to access government services are accessible to people with disabilities, effective Oct. 1. This policy is meant to comply with a ruling from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2024 that updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Local governments with a total population over 50,000 have until April 26, 2027 to comply with this rule.

There were no items included in the County Commission’s regular agenda for Wednesday’s meeting as of Tuesday.

The County Commission will hold a work session at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The business meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.