After months of review and public discussion, the Perryville Board of Aldermen is moving toward the final step in a comprehensive update of the city’s zoning regulations — a process city officials say is critical to Perryville’s future growth and housing development.
According to Perryville City Administrator Brent Buerck, the most significant action taken during the Board of Aldermen’s Dec. 2 meeting was the decision to move forward with a public hearing on the city’s updated zoning maps, marking the final phase of a zoning rewrite that has been years in the making.
The zoning update includes revised maps and modernized code language intended to replace Perryville’s existing zoning ordinance, which dates back to 1969.
“Nothing should stay the same forever,” Buerck said. “Our zoning code was 55 years old, and a lot has changed during that time.”
WHY THE CITY ACTED NOW
Buerck said the age of the zoning code had become a growing challenge for both city officials and residents. Over time, the language and structure of the ordinances became difficult to interpret, leading to confusion and unintended restrictions.
“The language of the code and the directions in the code were hard to understand,” he said. “We wanted to make it better.”
But clarity was only part of the motivation. Housing development — or the lack of it — played a major role in prompting the city to act.
“We learned that we were fairly restrictive in some ways,” Buerck said. “We eliminated possibilities that maybe we shouldn’t have.”
City leaders determined that portions of the existing zoning framework limited housing opportunities and made it more difficult for Perryville to grow.
“We wanted to look holistically at our zoning and make sure we’re set up where we can build more houses in the future and continue to grow as a community,” Buerck said.
RESIDENT QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION
During the Dec. 2 meeting, much of the discussion centered on zoning maps — particularly in the area between Montana and Big Springs — where residents attended the meeting to better understand what changes were being proposed.
Buerck said the board spent approximately 30 minutes addressing questions from community members and explaining how the revised maps would affect specific areas of the city.
“At the end, the board made some decisions,” he said, adding that the discussion helped clarify the proposed changes before moving forward.
A WELL-VETTED PROCESS
While the upcoming public hearing represents the final formal step, Buerck emphasized that public input has already been a key part of the zoning rewrite process.
“There have been a lot of opportunities for the public to weigh in,” he said, noting that public meetings were held early in the zoning rewrite effort and that the work followed last year’s comprehensive plan process.
Since then, the revised ordinances have been reviewed and adopted through regular Board of Aldermen meetings, with additional oversight by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the city engineer, and staff experienced in zoning matters.
“All the ordinances have been reviewed and adopted by the board through public meetings,” Buerck said. “The final step now is to present a zoning map — that’ll be the cherry on top.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Buerck said he does not anticipate significant changes resulting from the public hearing, describing the maps as thoroughly vetted and reflective of both past commitments and future goals.
“They’ve been reviewed by planning and zoning, by the city engineer, and by staff who’ve been involved with zoning for a long time,” he said. “We think it reflects previous commitments, but also looks to the future.”
While the public hearing is required before final adoption, Buerck characterized it as largely procedural at this stage.
“I really don’t expect many changes,” he said. “But we’ll find out for sure.”
Buerck added that all other items on the Dec. 2 agenda moved forward without issue.
“Everything flowed as you would normally expect,” he said.
City officials are expected to formally schedule the public hearing at an upcoming board of aldermen meeting.
