Holt County supervisors deny planning and zoning moratorium

After existing for 42 years, Holt County's comprehensive plan will be updated. But, a proposed 18-month moratorium on industrial pipelines, wind and solar power, will not be in effect while updates take place. Supervisors voted 6-0, Wednesday, March 16, to deny the moratorium, following a public hearing in O'Neill.

The moratorium request came from the county's planning and zoning commision, which voted 6-2 in favor of the moratorium, March 7, following a two-hour public hearing. At that time, language to include commercial agriculture operations in the moratorium was removed.

Planning and zoning commission member Mary Kaczor, of Ewing, told Wednesday's crowd of approximately 100, the commission's intention is not to stop progress in the county.

For the past two years, Kaczor said she believes the commission has been reactive.

"It's time we be proactive, but which way is proactive? Comments about the comprehensive plan being nothing more than bathroom material is totally wrong. If your zoning regulations do not support the comprehensive plan, you're in muddy water."

The commission hired Marvin Planning Associates, of David City, to assist with the rewrite of the plan and update of zoning regulations.

According to Kaczor, Antelope, Madison, Pierce, Thomas and Wheeler counties have approved, in the past, temporary moratoriums while updating their plans.

Holt County Attorney Brent Kelly said the idea for the update resulted from discussion with residents who approached the commission about the lack of zoning regulations, after a hog facility was constructed in close proximity to their home.

Kelly said, "These folks understood that they were going to get no recourse, no remedy, from the planning and zoning board."

The county attorney recommended the commission form a committee to find a company to help with the rewrite.

According to Kelly, Marvin Planning Associates recommended a temporary moratorium. As the comprehensive plan is rewritten, residents will be surveyed to provide direction to the commission. Several town hall meetings will also be held, allowing county stakeholders an opportunity to voice an opinion.

Kaczor said extensive contact with residents is one of the reasons the commission selected Marvin Planning Associaties.

"That's first and foremost, to find out what the people of this county want, where we want to head."

She asked supervisors to consider reducing the timeline to six months.

"It's time to get this ball going. This should've been done 30 years ago and have been looked at every 10 years since. There's no hidden agenda. We just want to do it right," Kaczor said.

Earlier Wednesday, during their scheduled bi-monthly meeting, supervisors conducted a conference call with Keith Marvin. A six-month moratorium was discussed. During that time, zoning regulations could be written to stop what Kelly called "worse-case scenarios."

He cited minimal county zoning regulations regarding pipelines, throughout the process with TransCanada and the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"There wasn't a lot to work with, there weren't a lot of tools in my box. The only thing I can work with is what zoning gives me to work with," the attorney said.

Opponents of the moratorium offered concerns about the message a moratorium would send, citing a decrease in the number of rural residents, an aging population and economic drawbacks.

"What is your message, county board? Is it that we are open for business or have you given up?" O'Neill resident Jan Chvala asked.

Nathan Nowlin, manager of Green Plains Atkinson, an ethanol plant, said he is against the moratorium.

A proposed pipeline, which will capture carbon dioxide and carry it to North Dakota, where it will be injected into the ground, includes the Atkinson facility.

"If we are kept from reducing the carbon intensity of our plant, it could put us out of business," Nowlin said.

Seth Harder, general manager of Husker Ag, near Plainview, echoed Nowlin's concerns, noting if some sections of the proposed CO2 pipeline aren't allowed to participate, the entire project could be jeopardized.

"We know greenhouse gases are affecting the world. We've got to show the world we have a low-carbon solution," he said.

O'Neill Public School Superintendent Amy Shane said green projects have the potential "to be lucrative for the county."

The wind farm in northern Holt County has generated positives for communities.

"The school district has seen $3.87 million come in from nameplate capacity taxes in the last five years."

According to Shane, a number of OPS graduates have found employment at the wind farm or related industries.

"We want our students to be able to come back, thrive and raise their families here. I would hate to discourage anything that will allow that to happen," she said.

Five of the 16 individuals who signed up to speak during the hearing spoke in favor of the moratorium.

Diana Steskal, of Atkinson, said a group of landowners have been attending planning and zoning commision meetings for the past six to eight months, to update rules and regulations for pipelines, which were penned in 2010.

"No one or any company or operation is above the zoning rules and regulations," she said.

During the KXL battle, Steskal said landowners dealt with emotional and financial stress for a dozen years.

"Eighteen months, compared to 12 years, is a walk in the park."

Jane Kleeb, of BOLD Nebraska, called the pipeline "common sense, even if you support carbon pipelines."

"Carbon pipelines (companies) have already been telling landowners that they will use eminent domain. We will take them to court. We believe they are not a common carrier," Kleeb said.

Nebraska's legislature and Public Service Commission have not put into law that carbon pipelines have to go through the PSC for route approval and to determine if they have eminent domain powers.

Kleeb said, "Once again, like we were with Keystone XL, before we got the PSC in place for oil pipelines, we are now in wild, wild west territory, where the only safeguard landowners have is their county board."

She reiterated that favoring the moratorium isn't a "for or against" ethanol statement.

"This is about pro or against property rights," she said.