Container houses OK; making them isn’t
Staff writer
Hillsboro city council members and residents of an area a mile south of Hillsboro can breathe a bit easier after county commissioners granted only a portion of a Rose Hill man’s request for a conditional use permit.
Quentin Heidt’s original request to county planners was to operate a facility to modify shipping containers and to place three short-term rental units on property at 180th and Indigo Rds.
Planners concluded Jan. 5 that a facility to modify containers would be more appropriate on property zoned for light industrial use, but they recommended that Heidt’s request to place short-term rental units there be approved.
Planners recommended that Heidt receive permission to put in up to three short-term rental units, with a maximum of three shipping containers used for each unit and an additional container for accessory use — with a total of 10 shipping containers.
They also recommended that manufacturing at the property be limited to construction of the proposed rental units.
Planners wanted a restrictive covenant that the property and housing units would remain in single ownership.
Planning director Sharon Omstead told commissioners the city of Hillsboro and residents of a housing development north of the proposed facility objected to granting Heidt’s original request.
Commissioners also discussed developing a process for towns to influence whether the county granted requests for conditional use permits near city limits.
Under law, cities can have influence on county zoning near their borders, but whether Hillsboro has formally asked for that power is uncertain.
Hillsboro city administrator Matt Stiles said Hillsboro earlier submitted a notification to the county that it wanted the right to exert zoning influence beyond its city limits.
“The county didn’t find the notification,” Stiles said.
County counsel Brad Jantz said he would work on a process for all county towns.
Stiles said Hillsboro authorities would look at the county’s proposal and decide whether they want to be part of it.
Dam repairs
In other business Monday, lake superintendent Isaac Hett told commissioners the state had surveyed work done on the lake’s dam and had scheduled a video conference about the findings.
The dam was damaged in June 2021 by overflow.
“I don’t know exactly what they were looking at,” Hett told commissioners.
Annex building work
After commissioners approved moving the county attorney’s office to the courthouse annex in space vacated by the extension district, estimates were obtained for work to provide extra security in the building.
County clerk Tina Spencer told commissions no estimate had been made for changing a hollow-core door on the emergency medical services office to a solid-core door.
She said the door could be replaced for an estimated $550.
Commissioners voted to approve the extra expense.
Eagle bridge closure
A plan to abandon a bridge on Eagle Rd and a portion of road connecting to it was scrapped after landowner Chasen Gann expressed concerns during a public hearing on the road closure.
He and some neighboring landowners use the section of road that commissioners proposed to close during harvest.
Spencer said if commissioners chose to close a different portion of the road, the process would have to begin again with new notices to landowners and a new public hearing.