Support plan revisions

Tonight, the county planning and zoning commission will hold a hearing on proposed changes in the comprehensive plan involving industrial siting in the county.

If ultimately approved, this is a move in the right direction to opening up job opportunities for many of the county's communities.

It will mean industrial growth will no longer be restricted to a small area of desert off Simco Road. There are plenty of controls in the county's zoning ordinances to make sure that industrial growth is not harmful to the county. Almost every industrial use would require conditional use permits and other controls that, theoretically, would impose appropriate restrictions on such development.

What it will do, however, is open up opportunities for such development in or near some of the poorer communities in the county, such as Glenns Ferry, which frankly has a lot to offer industrial and manufacturing firms (water, interstate and rail access). And that means good-paying jobs, which are desperately needed everywhere in Elmore County.

Some people will see this as a step to approving a controversial nuclear power plant. It will clear a major hurdle for the proponents of that plant, but these changes have nothing to do with that plan. The nuclear plant issue simply made the county aware of some undue restrictions in its current rules for industrial development. The plant itself is a separate issue.

The proposed changes simply give the county greater flexibility in being able to take advantage of those who want to locate in Elmore County, without taking away any significant controls. It's a good move and should be supported.

-- Kelly Everitt