Resignation comes on heels of County Commission ignoring Board’s recommendation
In the wake of the Platte County Commission’s approval of the Chapel Ridge subdivision, Dave Rainey, the Sioux Township representative on the Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission, has resigned. County Director of Planning and Zoning Daniel Erickson confirmed Rainey resigned last week and stated the resignation came in the form of an email, which did not disclose his reasons for resignation. Rainey told The Citizen his reason was because he felt he wasn’t needed on the Planning and Zoning Commission due to the actions of the County Commission. On Dec. 2, with 2nd District Commissioner Duane Soper recusing himself from the vote and 1st District Commissioner Beverlee Roper voting no, Presiding Commissioner Jason Brown cast one vote to approve a rezoning request for the 143-acre Parkville-area property slated for the Chapel Ridge subdivision. Per state law, in Soper’s absence, Brown’s vote carried the weight of two, allowing for a 2-1 passage of the rezoning request. Incarnations of the Chapel Ridge subdivision came before the Planning and Zoning Commission twice this year in lengthy meetings that each time ended with a unanimous vote by the Commission to deny the rezoning requests. After the rezoning request was denied last month, developer Brian Mertz brought it to the County Commission on appeal. “I want to be part of the Planning and Zoning Commission, but if our reasoning and judgment is not going to be respected, then why do it?” Rainey said. “How many hours did we spend between those two meetings? It was six or seven hours to make those decisions and if the Commission isn’t going to respect that, then I felt I wasn’t needed.” Local residents, represented by Parkville attorney Bill Quitmeier, have argued that the development is too high-density to fit the character of the existing neighborhoods. They have concerns about increased traffic, strains on infrastructure, stormwater runoff and impacts on property values. “I don’t want people to make a bigger deal of it than it is,” Rainey said. “I was planning to resign next year when I moved, but after the Commission’s decision, I just decided it was time.”