Planning Commission delays action on proposed development

A preliminary plat application for a residential development was tabled by the Sidney Planning Commission on Monday evening.

The owner, Michael Nelson, and developer, Brad Harper, had submitted an application to subdivide and rezone a tract of land north of U.S. Hwy. 30 in the west part of Sidney.

According to the application, the subdivision would include 10 lots and require a change from agriculture to residential zoning.

Harper said the request was for the first phase of the project and the development would have requirements ensuring no vinyl siding was permitted on its homes. A gravel road would provide access to the homes he said, and a homeowner's association would have the responsibility of providing maintenance.

"We're going to make it very nice," he said.

Septic systems would be installed and Wheatbelt would provide power, Harper explained.

Ben Dayton, the city's zoning administrator, said the city would put up signs announcing the street is not maintained by the municipality. Otherwise, Dayton said, the application met all ordinances.

Two nearby landowners attended the meeting to speak in opposition to the proposed rezoning.

Randy Faessler, who owns a nearby cattle feed yard, said he would like to see the property remain zoned as agriculture.

"Progress is progress, I don't begrudge that," he said.

Faessler said he was concerned there wouldn't be a larger buffer between his property and the proposed development. His property is permitted to maintain 2,000 head of cattle as a feed yard.

Tim Peetz said he lives directly south of the proposed site of the subdivision.

"We also have a feed yard," he said.

There are many places in the county to develop a residential neighborhood that aren't near two feed yards, he said.

"There are just a lot of things that could happen," Peetz said.

Harper responded that all potential home owners would be aware of the proximity of the feed yards.

"I'm not real sure," commissioner Casey Cortney said. "Do we have the possibility of more time? There's a lot of information to look at."

City Attorney J. Leef said the application could be tabled.

"I make a motion to table," Cortney said.

Commissioners voted to postpone a decision until the following meeting.

In May, the North Dakota attorney general issued a cease and desist order banning Harper from conducting business in that state.

According to a media release, the North Dakota Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division conducted an investigation following a complaint from a homeowner.

"Investigators discovered that Harper, who had been performing general contractor activities, was not licensed in [that] state," the release stated.

Harper was given an opportunity to obtain the proper license but refused and ceased cooperating with investigators, the release adds.

When asked by the Sidney Planning Commission if he had the appropriate licenses in Nebraska, Harper said he was not working as a contractor on the proposed development.