Planning & Zoning - Regular Meeting

Cool. Yeah, we're good. All right. Bring the meeting to order

here. Mcgru here. Martin here. Christensen here. Davidson is absent. Hughes here. right is absent. Um, everybody's got the agenda. Motion to approve that agenda. Motion, John. Second.

I'll second that. Everybody have a chance to review review those and have any changes or corrections? Motion to approve. Second on that. Second that.

Okay. Uh now we just have new business reviewing business uh recommending changes to the 5.7 ordinance.

Yes. So, the document that we're going to look at tonight, I had a print out the actual ordinance to you that goes before the board of supervisors, and that's labeled Mills County Ordinance number 25-2. And this is for the additional language where we're going to add in a definition [clears throat] for an accessory dwelling unit. And then we're going to change the will change the matrix in there, which is table 4.01 01 for the two family residential from conditional to permit per permitted and this is because of the change in the Iowa state law that came into effect on July 1. Uh so that's and then on point two of that ordinance you see where I had in there where we're going to recodify section 27.2.4A as needed for the new definition. that just allows us to go into that code section in chapter 27 and move those things around uh to keep the number order appropriately for that. We're going to amend table 4.01 which is the use matrix for the two family residential. And then I always add in that we to allow us to go in there and fix minor spelling and grammar errors because undoubtedly anytime you're kind of going through it again, you'll catch something whether it could be a comma, it could be a spelling error uh or grammar error. And that just allows us to kind of comb through the document real quick and make those without having to actually call those out. So then it goes on to say section one uh it starts with an amendment and that is that the Mills County Iowa code B and the same is hereby amended and this will be the specific section 27.2.3AB 2.3AB [clears throat] accessory dwelling unit uh referred to as ADU and that is this will be the actual definition that goes into the code is the a secondary living unit on a

single family lot and ADU contains its own kitchen sleeping area bathroom facilities. ADUs are subordinate in size, location and appearance to the primary dwelling unit. [snorts]

ADUs are commonly referred to as mother-in-law apartments, elder cottage housing opportunities, echo homes, guest cottages, caretaker cottages, or carriage houses. So, if everybody is fine with that wording, that's a pretty common definition for the ADU on there. One piece that you will notice in there is that you're not going to see any size requirements on this. And that's just a part where it is subordinate in size to the primary unit. You may have a lot that has a principal home on it right now. They come in and say, "Hey, we're going to build a secondary house on this property." Say the primary home is 1500 square foot living footprint, right? And they come in with plans for something that's 2500 square feet. That is fine because now all you're doing is changing a label is that that existing house is the ADU. The new house is the principal dwelling. So, uh, when I've in P County specifically, we tried this before back we started back in 2015. We put size requirements on there. First, the size requirements were so strict that nobody wanted to come in. They didn't want to build 800 square foot one. So, after a few years, we've tried that. We loosened it. We added some square footage to it. We allowed, you know, if you had more acreages, the more acreages you had, acres you had, basically the bigger your guest house could be,

right? So, uh, and then we got up to where you're 1,200 square feet in size. Even then, it was not necessarily spurring any interest. We got we got some that were coming in, but what you get caught in is they come in with their plans and in the in their plans, they're sitting there and you become where you're negotiating basically, hey, if I move this stairwell and put it out into the garage area, then does that count towards my living square footprint? Can I take my mechanical room? Can I move my mechanical room out into the garage area? Then that this keeps us away from all of that. It just says, listen, one house has got to be bigger than the other or smaller than it, however you want to refer to it. one's going to be bigger than the other. So that way you'd have it on there. The state requirement on there says that you can go up to a thousand square feet. But again, it just it keeps us out of being like I called it the bathroom police at that point in time because we're trying to just go back and forth on it. And um so as long as it's subordinate in size, then it'll fit the lot size. Again, I really think septic's going to play a lot into this. You're going to have to have the room for two septic systems to support it. Uh so I think that is okay on that part of it. Section two then goes on to the amendment which is uh amended to the m the matrix table and for you that are here I printed out copy of this just to give you reference to it. So, it's under residential uses uh our two family and two family in Mills County's Zoning ordinance is already defined out as the use of a site for two dwelling units each occupied by one one family in a separate building excluding a mobile home unit. Now, mobile home unit again really goes back to when you look at Mills County zoning ordinance when it when it talks

about mobile homes, it has to be converted to real estate. You got to remove the trailer. You got to remove the axles. You got to take the tongue. It's got to be set on a permanent foundation. So, in the use table on two family where those C's are labeled at, all those C's change to a P, which is the permitted. There's no more they don't have to come in and ask for a permitted uh or conditional use permit anymore. It's just going to be they can come in and it gets administratively approved through our office and that's all in alignment with state codes. We can't ask them to get conditional use permits to the city. Section three of the ordinance and section three, four and five, the separability, the repeal of the conflicting ordinances and the effective date. You will anytime we do an ordinance, those are on there. Uh the only thing that you don't see in this ordinance uh that normally goes along with ordinances is a repeal because there's nothing that we're repealing. There's nothing in there that needs repealed out of the ordinance. It's just we are just amending to it. no repeals and then it'll go into the severability repeal of the componenting ordinances and then uh has a signature page on the last one for the board of supervisors which you can see those published dates on there the published dates and the hearing dates are the actual dates that we're shooting for. Uh the only dates that we don't have would be the publication for it after it makes it through the board of supervisors second consideration because so once the the board of supervisors will do two readings on this we'll go in on no November 25th and then we would go back in on in December after their second reading of this once we publish it in the paper and take it to the recorder's office that is the official change of the code. then that's when we go in and the website would get updated with the

new version of chapter 27 making us all on board with that. So tonight what we're asking for in this part of the agenda is just an official recommendation from the planning commission uh that you would approve these changes to chapter 27 recommendation of approval to the board of supervisors. Does the state have any guidelines with this? So, it's okay for them to to do this in industrial or highway commercial. There's there's the state. What how does the state take that matter?

The state if it has a single family home on it right now. You're allowed to have a secondary single family home. What if you have neither? If you have neither then that's when we can our zoning ordinance could apply and potentially you wouldn't you know if it is an industrial highway commercial would be caretaker whatever I would see it there good so if there's a house there's a house today in industrial they can add more to it correct [clears throat]

What you mostly you let's say somebody came in to get a building permit from a for a new house in industrial that would probably be approved also. You think in an industrial zone in No, I don't think so. Thank you. Not according to what we have in the zoning ordinance. I don't think you can have a residential lease down there. just if it's already existing, right? Did you catch that? Drew and Davis and Joe, you still with us? Still here, Al. Yep, still here. You guys have any take?

I don't I I don't see anything that I would change in it. No, I don't I don't have an opinion on it. So, you had any inquiries on it yet? People want to do that. I'm sure that there's existing ones out there that it just kind of helps make legal. Yeah, I think you might eventually. A lot of them don't know about it. I don't think

what a lot of people find out is it's hard for financing. they think if you know they'll think it's a good idea where they're going to either their kids want to come out and build a house or mom and dad want to come out and build a house but then they get to where they go to the bank and they want to get a loan for it and they're like no I mean it's one person one family owns a lot how about the the shops house that they want a building permit to put an apartment in the shop. So, there's a there's a residence there. They've got a shops

and then they want to put apartment in their shop.

If they can make a new building code, they would be allowed to because you're not we weren't that's one of the parts of the state law is that you're not allowed to put design criteria on there to design it out. So, previously too in the pot county ordinances, we had a lot of design criteria in there where building materials had to match the that of the principal structure. Doorways had to face a certain direction. Um, you're not allowed to assign parking requirements that would keep them from having it. There's a lot of things in the state law that where you're not allowed the counties are not allowed to counties and or cities are not allowed to enforce that would basically not allow this to happen. able to switch. I'm sure it's increased valuation. We're going to get you. [clears throat]

Yeah, I know. [laughter] It's just it's too long. We're going to hit it. It's too long. I would assume it's not a garage. Okay. My other question would be going back to that shop house. You got your house, you got a shop, you got an apartment in in the shop in the shop. Can you rent that to anybody? Correct. That's another part of the law is that you're not allowed to say it can't be rental or dictate who it rents to or even short-term rental. So, it could be Airbnb, could be could be anything that they can do.

Yes. Bella and he had lived in the second house of the property and Bella's tight. They're tough. [snorts] He had properties already that way. Yeah. The big the big thing the big thing in this the big thing in this code in my opinion and I know there's not a lot we can do about it but the big thing in the code is covenants and the separation. That's what's that's what's kept the covenants in the subdivision has kept this from happening. They put in those, right? Yeah.

Yeah. So like in So that's so that but the covenants can't trump this. No, they can. So if you're in a if you're in a housing subdivision that has covenants on it, right, they very well may be able to come get a building permit from us. That does not mean you're allowed to build it as long as they have an active homeowners association. Okay. So that does trump. So the covenants but it comes from the homeowners association then the county. We as a county would not be able to say I can't issue you a building permit for that. Homeowners association would have to get strict on enforcement and say you can't build one here.

Maybe Yeah. So if there's any way HOA probably like you said working each other living you could put it on their final flag 20 years later if you haven't sort anything then they're non-existent basically to sunset. Yeah. See I thought this code would trump that. But you're saying Homer's association would trump. Yeah, they can be more Yeah, those homeowners can be more restricted those cos and keep them enforced. There's always a risk of them suns setting or not being but in your office you'll approve it and then then the battle will be

have to yeah we wouldn't be able to withhold it because we can't force co and we're we're going to put in here that it's odd. So covenants can be more restrictive than this document, which is is normally the case, but in this case, I didn't think that would trouble, but do we have any covenants that really say you can't have more than one? Most covenants say single family dwelling on the res. There's homeowners that were existent when it was platted, but whatever got them built. But you may have covenants, but you may not have an if they're not, you can't enforce them if you don't give your HOA,

right? Ours.

If you didn't have a private probably,

right? Yeah, especially when you're the county attorney, right? Yeah. So, this is this is it's good. Well, I will motion to approve this ordinance as as stated. No problem with that. Okay, there's a motion. We got a second. I'll second it. All right, we do roll call vote on this. All in favor say Okay. All in favor say I. I.

I.

I. Now under other business I has as promised we have I've been able to get you um the battery energy systems code section propos there's a draft code section okay but I know but it's gonna it's a lot to take in and review um I don't know any of us are battery energy system experts nuclear energy experts or not, but um I wanted to give you some time to just be able to read through them and see what we're looking at as far as additions. This would get what this will give us is kind of a boilerplate bare minimum to have on the books for Mills County for the battery energy and the nuclear. And I can't remember if I uh told you all what the uptick in interest in battery energy in Iowa was or not, but um and speaking with a wind energy company, going through some negotiations ongoing with them, they told me that when they repealed the tax credits for solar and they repealed the tax credits for wind, they left the tax credits for battery energy systems. They said that's why now people now you're going to see the more people coming in looking to site these projects for these battery energy systems. So I do feel like it's important to have something on the book on the books for this. This came um both of these came out of Lynn County who has adopted these. Uh so and the one that the battery energy systems is modeled directly after what was added for solar in Mills County and in P County. Those two ordinances are almost identical. They both came from Barrett home. So battery energy systems

modeled directly after that other than took out the sections that don't pertain to it and um apply for that. So explain what that would what they look like. explain a battery system in your town. What What is it? What is it? That's kind of the hard part about it, Alan. I don't really know what it would look like other than I mean I I assume that it's a large building that's going to require transmission lines and things to it. What would energize?

So, what's going to energize it? Uh, according to what I saw on there, would either be some sort of other renewable source, right? So, we could wind up a battery system out by that uh solar farm that they're putting in for Mid-American Energy on the east side of the county. They could they could come in and propose, hey, we want to do a battery energy system next to this because solar is going to charge those batteries. They'll put it out on the grid. They said you also find them next to wind projects and that's the reason the discussions I had because it's wind project who was writing in battery energy systems into their agreement. We had never discussed those before. So it could be the wind farm in P County could come in and say, "Hey, we want to add in a battery energy system to to go along with our powering."

So store the energy and then release it when needed.

Look like boxes, the big ones we talked about in the past. service county. Yeah, I don't know if they're looking at it or not on that. And then uh the nuclear energy code also for us to add the nuclear energy code. The one pager that goes with that would be a change that we have to add into our comp plan. That's going to require a two-step process from us. Have to change the comp plan and we'll have to adopt uh the nuclear energy rings as well because for nuclear energy, what we're going to do is we're going to create an exclusive use zone. There's not going to be anything in the county that is zoned exclusive use, right? Until a project comes to us. If in the future a nuclear power energy plant, whatever they wanted to come here and locate, they would find the site at which they want to be at the nuclear use, the exclusive use zone then allows us to go through and there's eight criteria, I believe. We have eight criteria that would be in the comp plan that when they would come before the planning commission to ask for the exclusive use o zone overlay to be put on them, we would go back and we would look at those eight criteria that are there. They would also be giving us a large presentation, I'm sure, about why it is that this is the best location for them to be located at. And then um if deemed appropriate then you would offer a recommendation to the board of supervisors. Yes, we feel like it's appropriate to zone this property as

exclusive use. Uh the only thing in that exclusive use zone right now is nuclear energy generating facilities. Nuclear generating energy facilities we've defined out to mean both of what that new technology is. They're calling them SMRs. That's the small nuclear reactors, the ones that look like a shipping container as well that are being tested out in Wyoming right now. Um, so it includes both of those facilities in there. Both of this is on both of them. Both the nuclear and the battery piece of it have a high hazard portion to it just based on the waste that could potentially come from them. You got the lithium batteries that are going to be at the battery place. you have obviously the nuclear waste of the nuclear sites. So there's those issues that are addressed within these code sections on here. A lot of it relates back to because I would say that we're not going to necessarily be the we are not going to be the regulatory authority over them, right? That's going to come from the federal level down. Um, so a lot of it just refers back to that they have to meet those standards and I'm sure that the feds are going to communicate to them. What it does say in there is that I think I kind of both of them is that basically the county realizes that we are going to have some sort of emergency response jurisdiction in that area. The nuclear one does contain a host community a agreement that would have to be signed. So they would be paying us to be located here. Um and that seems to be a common factor with these whether or not we and it's not that you know a lot of that host community agreement piece has been talked about surrounding a landfill. Right? landfills. It's

uh we're working with a separate attorney on, but I my reading of it is if the county owned the ground, you would get paid the host community fee for the county would not have to own the ground on this piece of it. They're just going to be we're they're recognizing harm they could potentially do just by being here. So, they're going to pay the county for just being here as it is. They would own the land. The other use that is allowed in uh along with the only other use that's along you'll see the principal uses on the second page of that is the nuclear energy generating facilities but the accessory uses to it is list out agricultural uses. Most nuclear plants I would say want a large green space that surrounds them. It's a large a lot of it is safety, a lot of it is security reasons why. So they just want to know that they're going to be able to do some sort of agricultural activity within that zone. So it's listed out in here because that's I mean that's what it's going to be. It'll be either you know green space or it's going to be farmed. You want to make sure that it's clear in there. These are drafts. All of these pieces are drafts that we've given to you just to give you time to read over it. Um Y

took care of the course. That way you have an opportunity to kind of read through it and then uh we'll come back together in December and hopefully get a recommendation at that time to move these pieces forward to the board of supervisors so that way we can start the process of adoption to add these to the zoning language for and comp plan comp plan and zoning change for January it would start with the board of supervisors.

What would be the negative to not adopting them? The negative to not adopting them would just be if we do get a project that comes into the area, they're going to come with what they're going to come prepared with what they want you to adopt and more than likely make a pretty hard push not only with you but with the board of supervisors to try to get the language that they want at that time. So at least this would give us a basis to operate off of and [clears throat] then when they do come in if they you know have proposed changes or something then we can put that up against what we do have and how that would affect any surrounding land uses to that. I do know from being on this board for a long time that I mean some when we start getting some paperwork it seems like stuff starts showing up for a little while like you know 10 years ago there was solar talk and then

yeah and the drafts were Darren was working on the solar and then it kind of starts showing up in the area the drafts does the drafts having it in your ordinance does it attract act it at all?

No, they're already out there. Sight selectors have been around for a long time. I mean, we could see something uh batterywise, I would think you could see something potentially want to come into that mega that mega site area or or even like I said close to the solar fields out there. Nuclear, I don't know. Um, I've sit in a lot of meetings with the top people from Mid-American Energy that and they are watching what's happening in Wyoming. They they want to make it clear. They say, "Yes, we're watching to see what happens out there in Wyoming." Some of those decisions just

Yeah, we have, you know, on the Nebraska side, it's there. You know, Fort Coun's in shutdown or is in the shutdown mode of it. Brownsville, they're got [clears throat] something going on down there. So our it's just going to be a matter of what Mid American Energy wants to do. And it would give us like I said this is just a basis to start with right here. We said both of these were from county office based on sorry the battery energy is modeled directly after the Mills County solar. Oh, nuclear nuclear

Lynn County. The comp plan changes. Lynn County. They're going through it right now. I don't know if you watched in the media at all or not, but Google has purchased the nuclear power plant that they were shutting down over there in Lynn County and they're repowering it with an agreement to buy power for it from their for their data centers that are being built out there. So Lynn County had to go back and um come up with regular ordinances to add in this is what they have the data center I think they're bigger now getting bigger and bigger

is is our solar ordinance Matt um would you say anybody has used that ordinance in different counties. Yes. What counties do you know? County did sounds good. County Cherokee County. They tweaked it a little bit of course or Woodberry because they I think they want they came after ours after we got ours from you. Thank you. So, everybody's working on it.

The KOSO group does there's the Koso group is the county zoning officials. Um, and they s get requests all the time that come out saying, "Hey, does any have an ordinance on this? Could you please share it and send it around?"

Yeah. The uh what I found interesting though was on the when I reached out about battery energy systems and the nuclear one of them, um, nobody would directly send it out. They would just they were just referred to the packets that the board of supervisors received. And so I went to the packets of the board of supervisors and got it out there. Lynn County did a whole website on because of the attention that theirs was grabbing. They did a website page specific to it and um there's a lot of information on there about what they were doing.

Well, at Fort Calhoun means they could boost Google could boost that baby. I mean, the way I understand it is the Omaha metro area. I think it's to a point where they're they don't have the power resource resources for more data centers.

Not even our housing. OPBD is maxed out. They're putting up generators, two power managements. That's why, you know, starting a few years ago, this and this happened a couple years ago when OPD maxed themselves out on what they had going on and all of this side of the state started receiving a lot more attention to all of these economic development projects that were coming in because Mid-American Energy had just released their power study and they had power to go. And so we started seeing a huge uh amount of activity on the economic development side to say I mean you sit on those boards too because we have the available power here and we have the transmission lines and now um

yeah there was and there was also uh I believe tax credits given because Mid-American Energy the large transmission lines that they have uh were described to me as right now they're like a two-lane highway right they're good um and efficient for what they do, but they're doing an upgrade on those lines. It's going to be a four-lane interstate. So, once they finish with that project, I mean, that where you're going to see even more uh activity on those sides because the their availability to deliver that power is going to increase significantly. So, um yeah, I mean our side power-wise, we are sitting at the top of the metro area where we should be. They just did the substation out at 250 and then the solar plants going down.

Solar substations going in right now. Yeah. Is that what they're doing? They're doing the substation first. I think the chamber was having a meeting specifically to go over they were having somebody to talk about issues because they know like the attorney general for the state or somebody suing one of them because they want they wanted to switch one of their power plants to a natural gas and they want to stop them from doing that because going to potentially lose some power capacity. They can't they have none to lose. Yeah. over my head.

I think this morning they came out and uh one of my one of the supervisors was telling me there's like a morning newsletter that gets shot out. There's two counties that put mortoriiums on two counties in Iowa that put mortoriiums out for no more data centers because the water usage happens. And there was old Russell. I always had a quote back to Russell was the guru [clears throat] of wells from the Iowa DNR. He had and he was 40 years probably at the Iowa DNR had been a well driller moved into that. And when we were first started getting data centers into Iowa, he was throwing up the red flags at that point in time because he said, you know, they're they [clears throat] drill a well, but they only they're only accepting the wells that they could produce like a million plus gallons of water out of there. We have glacial till aquifers underneath of us that are so down there that nobody had done studies to know what is the gen regeneration levels of these wells. Are we ever going to be able to support all of these things that we are bringing in here? And I think you know even Debbie Durham at state level has said that they have completely shut out from incentivizing any more data centers to be located here.

I've also heard that our tower is some of the most affordable in the country here. Could be

which makes a difference on where you put your gas centers probably. reading material here. Well, we do have so the other part yeah the other aspect of the battery energy pieces of it that is if that solar project does kick off down here on the river bottoms that would be another one you could potentially see battery energy systems if you're talking about what do we do if we don't adopt do adopt don't adopt battery energy systems probably at the highest importance of we have to we need to push something forward on nuclear Uh, you know, I I don't know.

Yeah. I mean, I don't know what the chances of us are ever getting here. If they if they finally own that project out there in Wyoming and say, "Yep, this is the thing. It's proven." Then I would say, "Yeah, we're probably going to see something." Can you explain that project a little bit? The the Wyoming project with the nuclear

Yeah. So, um I want to say it's Bill Gates is pumping a ton of money into this project that's out there and it is basically small nuclear reactors and making them work. They've been and it's not like small nuclear reactors are a new thing, right? The VA hospital in Omaha was powered for 50 years by its own nuclear reactor that was up there. You have nuclear reactors on Navy ships, Navy submarines, you know, they're out there, their work. Um, and but this this idea of it is basically taking it and it is about it's about the size of a shipping container and I think that even a special on Netflix that kind of shows them off a little bit about what how they look like and things but I mean it's the most efficient way to power these things and it's I think it is just balancing the affordability of startup and running to shut down right because everybody knows these large ones like at Fort Coun when it originally closed down is a 50-year shutdown that they have to go through to actually um declassify these things. So, I think that's what it is is basically how do we get it up there, make sure that you know you can operate it for a number of years and shut it down and keep the affordability in place uh to maximize it. But there I think one of those containers is like 3 megawatt deal. I mean it's a large amount of power coming out of these things that you know you see these I mean just the amount of space that a wind farm takes up the amount of space that a solar farm takes up to get the size of the amount of energy you can get out of a shipping container site is going to really make the popularity of solar as long as they can get it to an affordable rate. There's a lot of people pumping money into getting that technology out there.

Well, yeah, that was it. I wanted to get these to you, allow you time to kind of let it sink in, do some of your own research on it to see uh what it looks like, what you think about it. But like I said, like if you're looking at as importance level, battery energy systems very important. Nuclear kind of secondary to that. And nuclear it is. It's obviously you guys, we just went through the news comp plan update. It is an update to the news comp plan that we have to do. We're creating a whole new district on that just for the nuclear side of it. Um battery just will fit right into our zone or mirrored off of what our solar is cut down to. And that's all that I have for you for tonight. I guess just looking here at the battery energy storage, I see we have like, you know, training for local departments, but is there any like support for equipment and stuff like that? Cuz, you know, just thinking of like how big are these battery storage sites going to be? So that could come from a development agreement with them to ask them to open up grant opportunities or, you know, make sure that they have the equipment and technology that they need to be able to come and fight a fire like that. It could be that if they don't have a foam rig to help them with the cost of a foam rig, it could be respirators, all of those things.

Okay, gotcha. And I was just thinking, you know, like these lithium batteries, like one Tesla vehicle, you know, it's hard to put that out. So I was just thinking if there was a fire at a site like this, you know, I'm on both Emerson and Henderson's volunteer departments. And even Glennwood, you know, Red Oak, I don't think we'd have, you know, the resources to tackle something like that if there were to be an incident. But it was just something that caught my eye here just, you know, reading over this here at first. But

I agree, Davis. I think this would definitely be something that the volunteer fire departments pulled up out there. It would be to stand back and just maintain the perimeter around it as the fire did. It probably be to handle some potentially handle some evacuations if if it was deemed on the smoke clouds heading from one direction to another. Well, yeah, it wouldn't be offensive. It'd be defensive and just trying to mitigate the spread of, you know, the fallout, I guess, from something like that. But it wouldn't be a good deal, I guess, if if something were to to catch fire or something. But

well, one of the other solar battery remember that a little bit. you touched on that. I think it was just discussion.

All right. Nothing else. Nothing else. All right. Thank you all. Yeah. [laughter] Motion to adjourn. A motion to get a second for that. I'll second. Thanks for joining us joining us, Jo. Thank you. Thank you. Yep.