The Malad City Planning & Zoning Commission has been working for the past year on revising the Malad City Zoning Ordinance. Every five years we look at the ordinance to provide updates. It’s a huge job, and we appreciate the time spent by this group of volunteers to go through each page.

We have had some changes in our city during the past five years. In the new ordinance, we will be addressing twin homes, short-term rentals, and accessory dwelling units (ADU’s), among other things. There was also some language in the old ordinance that was ambiguous. We are trying to clean up those questionable portions to make the ordinance more clear.  

In 2023, the P&Z Commission worked on Malad’s zones to identify the current residential, commercial, and industrial zones. In the past, some of the residential and commercial zones had become undefined. 

There is always the question of why we need to have a zoning ordinance. The main purpose is to separate residential property use from commercial or industrial property use. As growth has continued, subdivisions have also become popular. In earlier years, commercial zones were allowed in other parts of the city. Now we want to regulate those areas to protect residential property owners.

Of course, within the different zones, there are regulations too. We need regulations to protect property owners, but we don’t want to be so strict that we restrict growth. That is why your voice is important. You may see issues from a different viewpoint. We would certainly like to take all ideas into consideration. If any of you have input you would like to share on these or any other parts of our zoning ordinance, we would love to hear from you. You can contact Shelly Williams, Administrator and Chairman of the Malad City Planning & Zoning Commission. Her email is [email protected]. You can also contact any councilperson or the mayor. Our emails are listed on the city website (maladidaho.org). We are hoping to have the new ordinance approved within the next few months, after which it will be too late to make changes.

We were told that bids for the Bannock Street project would be let in November. It is now the beginning of March, and we are still waiting. The wheels of government move very slowly sometimes, and it is a lesson in patience. The project is scheduled to begin this spring; however, the roads will not be completely torn up until after school is out in May. Part of the project will be to replace the stormwater culvert. Because it is so large and needs to be in place to complete the road, that will be the first phase of the project. 

Thank you so much for being so patient with us as we have worked through this project. It has taken almost nine years!