If you keep your eyes peeled as you drive around Madison County, you will regularly notice signs posted on various properties. The posts have info like the notice in the graphic above, and often include a map of the properties in question.
These public notices are also required to be published in the local newspapers. Once the notices have gone up, the Planning and Zoning Commission members, city council members, and the mayor are limited in their ability to converse with the public about the requested changes to the properties. This restriction is intended to keep the hearing process as fair and objective as possible.
For things such as expanding a city's impact area or annexing property into the city limits, the P&Z members hold a hearing and then make their recommendation to the city council. Then at a city council meeting, the council and mayor have a chance to discuss and debate the proposal and the commission's recommendation. Then, of course, the council votes.
For example, if you participated in the city council meeting this week (1/27), you saw the council vote to annex into the city a group of properties along the east side of South Railroad Ave (Hwy 33), from Moody northward. Annexation requests usually come from the property owners, as they look to become a part of our city, as opposed to trying to remain in the county and avoid being annexed into Rexburg or other cities. When a property owner requests annexation, it is usually because the owner has future plans for the property and wants to have access to city utilities and other city benefits.
Due to the nature or situation of the annexations being discussed in the announcement above, the city council will hold a meeting to discuss and take action on the annexations immediately following the P&Z hearing and meeting on Feb 15th. The mayor and council determined that this was an appropriate thing to do so property owners and other interested entities would know the outcome of the council's vote, one way or another, as soon as reasonably possible. There is no "secret" agenda or intent to "slip" something past the residents of Sugar City in this. In this situation, it's in the city's best interest to follow this timeline.
The city strives to give the public as much notice as possible--at least the minimum required by law, but often more notice than that. Sometimes the public is not as up to date as they could be on issues, and by the time some citizens become aware of something, the public input process is over or nearly over. Then residents might feel they didn't get their chance to voice their opinion on the issue.
With the growth we and all of Southeast Idaho are experiencing, there will be more of these public notices being made throughout Madison County. With Rexburg's northward expansion, the residents, the mayor, and the council of Sugar City need to be our toes to make sure we are protecting the interests of our great city as best we can.
I encourage everyone to try to stay informed as we face our future opportunities together. I will try to keep information flowing through this simple blog. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me or any other council member, the mayor, or city staff.