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Planning staff report smaller permit counts in 2024 and flag rise in 25‑acre nonfamily divisions
Summary
Planning staff told the commission that zoning and building permits fell in 2024, business-license community reviews showed a high share of tourist rentals, and the office recorded a notable increase in nonfamily divisions of 25‑acre tracts.
Planning staff presented the Page County Community Development Department’s 2024 annual report to the Planning Commission, showing modest declines in permit activity overall and raising a policy question about a rise in large nonfamily land divisions.
Staff reported zoning permits decreased from 357 to 311 and building and trade permits fell from 2,409 to 1,950 year-over-year. New residential unit counts also declined; staff gave a year-to-year comparison in the packet. Commissioners noted that a 2023 spike was driven in part by a multi-unit project behind Walmart (identified in the packet as Leeraire Landing) and that additional units for that project remain in the permitting pipeline.
The report shows a shift in business-license reviews handled by community development: of 87 business-license–related reviews, 34 were for tourist rentals — about 71.6 percent of those community-development reviews. Staff clarified that the department’s tally reflects only licenses routed for community development review, not every business license issued countywide.
Commissioners and staff focused considerable discussion on division-of-land activity: the office recorded a notable increase in 25‑acre divisions that were followed by nonfamily divisions. One commissioner described that pattern as a multiplying effect and asked staff for historical trend data; staff said recordkeeping on nonfamily distinctions began in the previous year but that it would be possible to research earlier records to establish multi-year trends. Staff said it will prepare mapping to show geographic distribution of recent divisions for the subdivision and comprehensive plan subcommittees.
Commissioners asked staff to correct a formatting placeholder on the division-of-land page before the report is submitted to the county administrator. Staff said they would make that edit and return the revised report to the commission.
The report also noted a slight overall decline in complaints for 2024 and that the office had not issued any pump-and-haul permits since before 2020, according to staff.
