Planning commission sends favorable recommendation on rezoning with 2-acre minimum and no detached ADUs

The Tooele County planning commission voted to recommend that the county council approve REZ2024-159 with conditions: a minimum lot size of 2 acres and a prohibition on detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The motion passed 6–1; Commissioner Dow registered the lone no vote.

Planning staff described the application as a rezoning request that had been considered previously by the commission and county council. Staff said the applicant submitted additional water information and a change-order application that shows water rights in the area, and the county health department deemed the area feasible for development subject to later subdivision-phase soils and septic review. Staff also noted a general-plan amendment had been made on the specific 40-acre parcel to medium-density residential prior to the council’s consideration.

Applicant representative (identified in the record as Harris) told the commission the original subdivision concept included mixed lot sizes but that the applicant now seeks uniform 2‑acre lots across the proposed subdivision. Harris stated, “we would like to change that to the 2 acre lot sizes and just be across the board 2 acre lots.” The applicant and staff said test wells had not yet been drilled but that drilling was scheduled with a local driller; staff estimated drilling depths in the area could be on the order of 650–700 feet.

Commissioners discussed shared-well arrangements (shared-well user agreements recorded with deeds), septic capacity and alternative septic systems, and the relationship between ADU allowances and septic/water capacity. Commissioners also noted a letter from Tooele City expressing concerns about downstream impacts to wells and wastewater and asked the applicant to address those concerns with technical data during subdivision review.

Commissioner Scott moved to recommend approval to the county council with the lot-size and ADU conditions; Commissioner Beckstrom seconded. A roll-call vote produced six yes votes and one no vote. The commission asked staff to include the stated conditions in the recommendation to the county council and to document the city’s concerns in the record.

If the county council approves the rezoning, future subdivision-phase applications will be required to provide test-well data, septic designs and any additional mitigation measures necessary to address groundwater and downstream impacts before final plat approvals.

Speakers quoted in this article are limited to the meeting participants listed in the transcript.