Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Santaquin resident asks council about keeping farms, council outlines zone‑change process for livestock
Summary
A Santaquin resident asked whether the city will preserve farmland or allow residential development and whether zoning changes could permit cows; councilors and staff said property owners control sales, the R‑10 zone does not allow cows, and a zone change would require planning review and neighbor notification.
Troy Frazier, a Santaquin resident, asked the City Council on June 17 whether the city intends to preserve farms or allow the area to become mostly residential and whether property owners can change zoning to keep livestock such as cows.
The question prompted a discussion with the mayor and city staff about how zoning works in Santaquin and what a property owner must do to seek livestock on land now zoned residential. The mayor and staff said the city cannot prevent an owner from selling property, that the R‑10 residential zone does not permit cows, and that the only path to allow livestock on an R‑10 parcel is an application for a zone change followed by planning and public hearings.
The exchange matters to residents and small‑scale farmers because it clarified who decides land use, how existing agricultural activities are treated when surrounding lots are subdivided, and what neighbors can expect if someone applies to change a parcel’s zoning. It also highlighted that a complaint from a neighbor had prompted city staff enforcement actions in the case discussed by Frazier.
During the public comment period, Frazier said his family moved to Santaquin for its agricultural character and is concerned about seeing farms replaced by housing. “Are we looking to turn it into just all residential townhouses, condos? Are we looking at keeping farms, branches, places like that?” he asked.
The mayor responded that property owners “decide if that’s going to be sold to a developer” and that the city follows applicable zoning and “state law.” The mayor explained that a zone change is the formal route to seek a different use and cautioned that councilors avoid spot zoning — changing the zoning for a single parcel surrounded by different uses — because council actions affect the entire community. The mayor added that neighbors would receive notice and an opportunity to comment if an owner applies for a zone change.
A city staff member said some of the questions would be addressed best through a meeting with planning staff and recommended that the Fraser family (the property owner named during the exchange) meet with planners to consider whether to pursue a zone change or a code amendment. Staff also confirmed the council could not act on the matter during the public forum.
City staff and councilors noted additional context raised in the exchange: a blanket rezoning years earlier appears to have changed some parcels’ zoning to residential, and in the case discussed the parcel had been used for limited agricultural purposes in the past but not for cows. Staff said the parcel’s current residential zoning (R‑10) does not permit cows and that an application to allow cows would likely need to move through the planning and zoning commission before returning to the council.
No formal action was taken at the meeting. The mayor and staff advised Frazier to meet with planning staff to learn about the zone‑change process and the neighborhood notification that would follow if the family chooses to pursue it.
