Council makes changes to zoning regs

An ordinance making amendments to the city’s zoning specifications was passed on first reading at last week’s meeting of the Sundance City Council. The changes were suggested by the Land Use Planning Committee and will affect three aspects of Sundance’s zoning requirements: fence height, temporary storage buildings and outdoor advertising signs.

Temporary storage buildings include such things as shipping containers and portable storage units. According to the changes, they will be prohibited except in the industrial zone.

The change will not only prohibit residents from introducing new storage buildings to their properties, but will also impact residents who may already have done so.

“People that have them will have to remove them by the time the ordinance is completed,” said City Attorney Mark Hughes. “The whole point was to get rid of them in town.”

The ordinance will be complete once it has received three readings, the second and third of which are expected to take place at the July and August regular meetings of the council.

The second element included in the ordinance is outdoor advertising signs within city limits, such as billboards on private land. Mayor Paul Brooks commented that the public is, “very, very concerned” about the aesthetic impact of such signs and, from the feedback he has received, it appears that citizens of Sundance would prefer not to see them in town.

The final aspect of the ordinance makes changes to the allowable height of fences on properties within the city.

The ordinance was drafted by Hughes in alignment with what the Land Use Planning Committee wanted, and a motion was made to pass it on first reading. At Hughes’ suggestion, council members will consider it over the next month and then make any suggested changes at July’s meeting.

All three changes will go into effect once the ordinance has received three readings.