The Yellowstone County and the city of Laurel planning board decided to table a hearing on growth policy and reschedule it for next year.
Many during the public comment period had concerns about how this would affect zoning and the Northwestern Energy natural gas plant.
There was so much information that the board voted to reschedule the hearing for Jan. 17.
The public hearing on the Laurel Yellowstone City County Management Plan 2023 update never happened.
Planning Board Member Gavin Williams motioned to table the hearing.
He and the board want to have more time to study the hundreds of pages of the agenda handout and read the hundreds of emails sent for public comment.
"Talking to a lot of the folks you see in this room today, not one single person has any clue or idea about what you guys are up to at this meeting," one woman said.
"This is huge," another woman said at the podium. "You're asking the city of Laurel to cede ownership or control over the buffer zone that they've always had."
While the hearing was going to address the growth plan around the city of Laurel, many are concerned over who has jurisdiction for zoning, the city or the county.
"And what happens in Laurel happens right around the edge of Laurel as well," said Steve Krum, a member of the Thiel Road Coalition, on the south side of the Yellowstone River.
While the board says the Northwestern Energy natural gas plant under construction is not the main issue, all the public comments focused on that.
A representative from Northwestern Energy also addressed the board.
"As longtime nearby landowner, Northwestern does support the proposals before you tonight," said Mitchell Warbell, Northwestern Energy corporate counsel. 'We believe they provide a sensible path for future development."
And there was one other comment in favor of the power plant in Laurel.
"It makes perfect sense to continue down that area with industrial," one man said.
The Northern Plains Resource Council said this was a good outcome for the board to take more time.
"It is important the growth plan guides zoning and it has to be taken into consideration by state law."
