The Planning Commission is looking at drafting new ordinances, which could save some Saratoga residents a lot of trouble.
Planning Commission members voted unanimously to move forward with drafting new ordinances for Title 18, ordinances relating to zoning for the town of Saratoga.
The matter came to a vote after long discussions and a disagreement on how Title 18 defined “home occupation” and how that definition relates to special use permits.
The town’s interpretation is residents need a special use permit for dressmaking, sewing, tailoring; painting, sculpturing and writing; telephone answering; home crafts; tutoring; home cooking; computer programing; and other tasks in residential areas of the town of Saratoga.
“My interpretation is, if it is not expressly allowed by either a special permit or an expressly permitted use or otherwise, then home occupations are not allowed in that district,” said the town’s attorney Tom Thompson in the meeting March 18.
The process of getting a special use permit calls for a minimum fee, paper work and to notify neighbors within 300 feet, among other tasks outlined in Title 18.
At least two Planning Commission members think the ordinance allows those activities without the need of a special use permit.
“I think there are certain things you should be allowed to do in your home without having to get a permit,” said Planning Commission member Rory Grubb after the meeting.
Thompson attended the March 18 meeting to explain the town’s interpretation of the ordinance.
Title 18 defines home occupation as “specific any use for gain or support carried on within a dwelling located in a residence district only by the occupants thereof; it may be located within the principal building or in an accessory building. There shall be no outside storage of materials and the exterior of the building containing the home occupation shall not be altered to change the residential character of the premises. All special use permits granted for a home occupation shall be non-assignable and site.”
The section goes on to define specific actions and whether they are “permitted”, “not permitted” or “prohibited”.
In previous meetings, commission members disagreed on what “permitted” meant in the definition section. Some thought it meant “allowed”. Others thought it meant the activity needed a permit.
Thompson said in the meeting it wasn’t about what “permitted” meant, but the fact the entire home occupation section was in the definitions section of Title 18.
“This is a definitional section,” Thompson said. “This does not have any bearing on what happens in a particular district. What is permitted in a particular district is found within the ordinances themselves.”
During the meeting, Grubb and other Planning Commission members began to discuss the possibility of rewriting ordinance to allow nine items to take place in residential districts.
“It was my contention that for any of these (items) you have to come before the board and get a special use permit,” Wilcoxson said referring to the home occupation definition. “Bev Hempel had to do it 14 years ago for her piano tuning. If we want to change that, that is a discussion we have to have.”
During discussion, Thompson recommended the commission contact the Wyoming Association of Municipalities to find the best course of action to fix the ordinance so it can allow more freedom for residents.
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