Road ‘variance’ questioned

A plat approval for a road on Fjerdingren Farm Subdivision led to a spirited discussion on county road specifications and the county and city’s relationship over the three- mile jurisdiction during the Aug. 25 meeting of the Custer County Commission.

The plat in question belongs to Dan Dale, who wants to subdivide his land in the subdivision, which is in the county outside the City of Custer’s limits, but falls within the three-mile jurisdiction of the city, which means the city is the entity that can approve or disapprove plats within that jurisdiction. Because of this, the plat was never run by the county planning commission, and was approved despite not having roads that meet county specifications.

That didn’t sit well with some of the county commission members, who said they feel the city should run plats within the three-mile jurisdiction through the county planning commission. They also questioned why the road authority—county highway superintendent John Culberson—would sign off the approval of the road that didn’t meet county specifications.