Published: 2:00 AM - 04/05/13

LIBERTY Liberty Town Board members are delaying a decision on whether to follow the supervisor's plan to scrap the town's 2011 zoning and revert back to "business friendly" regulations of 26 years ago.

Supervisor Charlie Barbuti polled board members during a meeting on Monday and the council decided to wait until May before voting. Barbuti said he was hoping to give direction to the town attorney as numerous revisions need to be made. He believes it will be easier to revert back to the 1987 zoning and make revisions from those documents.

"We have had a lot of complaints," Barbuti said.

The 2011 zoning was largely created by a committee of volunteers formed after the town completed a comprehensive plan in 2008. Heinrich Strauch, executive director of the Liberty Community Development Corp., who served on the committee, said the group tried to match zoning with the comprehensive plan, which called for protecting the rural character and focusing commercial growth in a few zones.

"Zoning for me is a living document," Strauch said. "If the community feels it is too restrictive and open it up, that is OK with me."

People expressed mixed options about Barbuti's plan at a public hearing in March. Councilman Dean Farrand, who also served on the committee, said he opposes scrapping the 2011 work. He believes tweaks can be made to address most people's criticisms.

"I don't think the 2011 map and ... charts need radical changes," Farrand said.

About 40 percent of the town's land is now zoned agricultural, requiring 10 acres to build a house. Barbuti also said the new zoning makes it difficult to attract restaurants and shops around Swan Lake and industrial businesses along portions of Old Route 17.

"That is fine for Montana," Barbuti said. "It is not for 90 minutes from New York City."

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Liberty delays vote on zoning laws