Although little land in the unincorporated Brush area is proposed for rezoning, those whose land is being considered helped make decisions about the future of the property during a Comprehensive Land Use Plan meeting Monday evening.

One area up for rezoning is a tract that extends south of I-76 and east of County Road 25, according to Morgan County Planning Administrator Barbara Gorrell.

Most of the area, which is zoned agricultural, was proposed to be converted to rural residential. Gorrell said there is already much residential development in that area, although the current farm ground could remain zoned agricultural.

“There is a considerable amount of farm ground in there also,” she said. “This zoning change would not have any effect on the farming operations that are in there.”

Any property currently used in the area could continue to be used for the same purpose, Gorrell said, but the zoning changes would alter future use of the remaining land.

One main difference between zoning regulations for rural residential areas and agricultural areas is the size of the parcels allowed, she said. The smallest lot size allowed on agricultural land is one acre, she said, but it is much smaller for rural residential land.

Gorrell said nothing would happen to landowners’ assessed value for property tax purposes if the zoning regulations were changed.

“Land use zoning and tax zoning are two totally separate things,” she said.

Also up for consideration is a parcel of land south of County Road R and east of County Road 28, Gorrell said.

The commercial land on the north side of the parcel was originally proposed to be rural residential, which is what is on both sides of the land, she said. But the affected landowners have voiced concerns about the proposed rezoning, so it will probably remain commercial, she said.

“We will probably leave that little square commercial since that is what they want to have in there,” she said.

The south part of the parcel, currently a mixture of agriculture and agribusiness land, is proposed to become all agricultural, Gorrell said. The rezoning would prevent the splitting of property, she said, as the current zoning lines don’t follow property lines.

Also considered for rezoning is a stretch of land extending southeast from Interstate 76 on both sides of Highway 6, Gorrell said. She said the proposed rezoning is meant to keep split properties under the same zoning regulations.

“There are so many different little parcels and landowners in there,” she said. “There was such a mix of zoning that trying to get zoning and parcels to line up was one of our biggest challenges.”

The proposed rezoning would change most of the commercial area along the north side of Highway 6 to agricultural ground, she said, and the agriculture/agribusiness land to the south would mostly become agribusiness land.

The rezoning would also extend the light industrial regulations to the entire Brush airport area, she said.

A small square of heavy industrial land in east Morgan County is also up for rezoning, Gorrell said. The landowner does not want to change the zoning regulations, she said, so they will probably remain the same.

Gorrell said all proposed rezoning regulations were designed to benefit the landowners. The goal is to have the rezoning of the county complete by August, she said, but public hearings will be held before any final decisions are made.

All affected landowners will be notified of the hearings before they occur, she said.