On a 4-1 vote, the Yuma County Planning and Zoning Commission has denied recommendation of the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
The plan provides a guide for development in the county’s unincorporated areas, particularly in the area of land use. Under state law, counties must update or extend their plans every 10 years.
The County Board of Supervisors directed staff last year to keep the existing 2012 Comprehensive Plan and make updates.
After hearing comments from agencies and residents pointing out obsolete information, particularly the existing plan’s housing data from 2000-2010, staff told commissioners they intend to update the information but that would require hiring a consultant to perform a housing study.
Several commissioners said no study was necessary to understand area housing has changed in the last-decade-plus and admonished leadership for failing to adequately address the plan’s needed information so it would be useful as a guiding document.
Residents and outside agencies who reviewed the plan during its comment period also pointed out the incomplete and outdated information. Several comments and update recommendations were gathered during the process.
The commissioners voting against recommending the plan all expressed concerns about its inaccuracies and its potential impacts on development in the next decade if accepted in its current state. (Source)