Hearing set on setback law

POLAND -- Village council discussed a riparian setback zoning ordinance change Tuesday recommended by the Poland Village Planning Commission.
Council set a public hearing on the matter for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 23 at Poland Village Hall, 308 S. Main St. Council has to act on the ordinance within 40 days of the session, Councilman Bill Dunnavant said.
The change has a built-in exemption for the Poland Cemetery Association, 110 Riverside Drive, that would allow customary cemetery operations on land the association owns that is within 120 feet of Yellow Creek, Drake's Run and Burgess Run, all of which surround the cemetery, explained Dunnavant.
The 120-foot setback from bodies of water is designed to protect such land from flooding and to help filter runoff entering the streams, Dunnavant noted.
The exemption also prohibits the cemetery association from building in the setback areas mausoleums, maintenance buildings or any roads on which water would run off. All three could negatively impact nearby streams and other water sources, Dunnavant explained, adding that without the allowance, the association would not be permitted to do anything in the setback zone.
The cemetery has opposed the setback, arguing that what is essentially a buffer zone could impair cemetery operations.