The Sheridan Zoning Commission has shared the draft version of the ordinances they have worked on with Dylan Pipinich of the WGM Group with the Sheridan Town Commission on Sept. 8. The zoning commission has been working with the WGM Group since October of 2024 to establish the first ever zoning ordinances town which was established in 1893. 

The commission has relied heavily on input from the public to guide the creation of the zoning regulations and although they indicate they would have been more comfortable with more involvement, there is a feeling that the community has participated and been heard through the process.  

“Although the public feedback has not been overly extensive, I have been very pleased about those who have come forward, and the quality of their observations , questions and comments. All of the conversations have been very civil and have contributed greatly in our decision making process,” said zoning commission member Ann Good. 

“We hope any observer of our process will conclude that we have vigilantly adhered to the

requirement, and the good sense, of seeking public input and providing public awareness of all our activities,” said zoning commission member Tom Roberts. “We are volunteers who choose to serve our community.  It isn't always easy to segregate our personal opinions from our public responsibility, but we have done our best.”

“My impression of the public input received, both written and verbal, has been very good,” he continued. “We would, of course, wish for more, but isn't that true of all things in a small town?  The public has been quite supportive of the team's goal, and has offered meaningful and helpful suggestions.”

Roberts goes on to indicate that in his opinion the value of the work centers on two primary areas. 

“ I think the most valuable results of this effort are two-fold,” he said. “First, defining a residential district (R3) with minimal lot sizes which will help support the objective of providing affordable housing. Secondly, furthering the premise of being good neighbors by providing written guidelines to prevent something that would be detrimental to public health and safety.  For example, specifying setbacks that will allow emergency access between buildings. Another example is limiting building height to what our fire protection heroes are equipped to handle.”

Roberts mentioned that the commission along with members of the public have spent significant amounts of time discussing density, specifically the lot sizes and setbacks in the three designated residential districts.

“We recognize a pattern that seems to prevail in communities both large and small of higher density closer to the center of town and lower density farther outboard. Regardless of community size, districts shown on a map need boundaries, and where those boundaries should be located isn't always readily apparent from a bird's eye view,” he explained. 

Town Commissioner Jan Bowey, who also sits on the zoning board also spoke favorably about the public's interaction with the commission and pointed out that her impression was that enforcement of the regulations and desire to encourage development in town in lieu of scattered development in the valley balanced with the ability to provide infrastructure (primarily water and sewer) were issues that she received significant amounts of feedback on. 

“Public attendance was robust with lots of interaction between residents and zoning commission members,” she stated. ”Comments provided by residents were very helpful for me so I considered it a success.”

“ I was surprised,” she said after the Sept. 2 meeting. “We have minor corrections to make to the use district map, which means some residents took a hard look, but no one suggested changes to the content of the ordinance itself.”

A full copy of the draft zoning ordinance is available at www.townofsheridanmt.org/planning-and-zoning. The town commissioners are sending the draft ordinance for review by their legal council and will schedule two readings after receiving the attorney’s approval. Then there will be a special meeting to vote on the adoption of the ordinances.