The Hickman County planning commission convened a special, non-voting work session to review a proposed future land-use plan and answer resident questions Friday, emphasizing the document is guidance and does not by itself change zoning.

Planning Commission Chair (who led the presentation) told commissioners and residents the draft plan — prepared with consultant Gresham Smith — "does not have the power to change a single parcel" or a zoning regulation and that any zoning change would require a county commission resolution and public hearings. He repeatedly urged the audience to use the appendix and the plan’s maps to guide local decisions and said the plan’s purpose is to guide decisions about where growth, infrastructure and services should be focused.

Why it matters: The session centered on a consultant-suggested description of rural "low-density" areas as in a 3–15 acre range, wording that many residents interpreted as a move to downzone and restrict landowners’ ability to divide property. That misunderstanding — and the potential legal and fiscal consequences of setting minimum lot sizes by map — dominated public comment and commissioner discussion in the two-hour meeting.

What officials said: The chair explained the consultant's 3–15 acre figure was offered as a sample range to describe "low density," not as a fixed minimum that would automatically alter parcel zoning. "If the land use plan passes... it does not change a single parcel that is zoned," he said, adding that any new minimum lot-size would still require a resolution brought to the county commission, a public hearing, and a second hearing before a vote.

What residents asked: Multiple residents and commissioners pressed for clarity on how the 3–15 suggestion would be implemented, whether it would be uniform across the county, and whether owners already holding small parcels would be grandfathered. One resident warned the county could face legal exposure, saying a broad downzoning without compensation could prompt takings claims. Others asked who would pay for infrastructure such as wider roads or sewers if denser development were allowed in the planned growth area.

Numbers and context: Commissioners noted the county’s existing A-1 agricultural zoning currently allows minimum lot sizes of 1 acre unless smaller lots are already grandfathered; an R-1 residential zone was described as 30,000 square feet for lot size. One commissioner estimated that the draft plan’s growth area would cover roughly a quarter of the county (he cited a rough increase from about 8% in the older plan to approximately 26% under the new map, excluding Centerville).

Next steps: The commission confirmed the plan is scheduled for a formal county commission vote at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The chair and several commissioners said they will consider amendments before then — including proposals to remove numeric ranges from the plan’s description of low-density areas — and reminded residents that public comment will be accepted at the county meeting. Several speakers urged postponing the vote to allow further community input and legal review.

What remains unresolved: The session closed with continuing disagreement over whether to keep consultant-recommended numeric ranges in the plan, how to define a uniform minimum lot size (if any), the scope of grandfathering for existing lots, and how infrastructure costs should be allocated between developers, grant programs and county taxpayers. Commissioners and the planning commission said these issues will be addressed in follow-on planning-and-zoning work, and that any binding code changes would require later formal resolutions and hearings.