Council weighs stricter rules or administrative path for flag lots, citing safety and neighborhood impacts

South Jordan City Council members discussed revisions to the city’s flag-lot rules after staff said several applications and inquiries are pending. Staff told the council existing policy gives two paths: an administrative path for rare, large-lot cases (lots at least twice the subdivision average) and a legislative "floating zone" path that requires rezone and a development agreement.

"If you meet that large-lot size, you can still go the administrative route; otherwise you need the legislative process," a planning staff presenter said. The council heard that the legislative option has been used in some cities to allow more case-by-case discretion, but it also requires extra public hearings, legal work and development agreements. Staff said the city currently enhanced-notices developers must provide (notice to the entire subdivision plus a 300-foot radius) and that a prior pending ordinance puts a temporary pause on vesting of new flag-lot applications.

Councilmembers emphasized public-safety, emergency access and neighborhood compatibility. Several councilmembers supported provisions requiring minimum access-strip width and driveway paving, address markers at the street, limits on access-strip length, and fire-department turnarounds. "If you can't even get a fire truck down that lane, then we're not interested in having anything back there," one councilmember said.

Council discussion also focused on whether flag lots should be allowed where detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or guest houses would create extra rental units. Several councilmembers said they preferred a clearer rule: either permit a flag lot (with owner-occupancy and restrictions) or use the ADU pathway — not both. "If we're doing a flag lot, I think it's deed-restricted for sale," one councilmember said; others said policing deed restrictions and controlling future ownership would be difficult.

Options staff described for the council included stricter eligibility caps (for example, limiting flag-lot eligibility to subdivisions under a certain size or capping the number of flag lots per subdivision), minimum frontage and access-width standards, maximum number of lots created from an original parcel (staff currently proposes a max of two), setback and height limits, limits on guest houses/external ADUs on new flag lots, and requirement of shared driveways where two adjacent lots are developed at the same time.

No ordinance was adopted at the study session. Councilmembers asked staff to draft a clearer administrative checklist or, alternately, a revised floating-zone ordinance that contains a firm upfront checklist and substantially tighter restrictions; they instructed staff to return with draft language, fee estimates and recommended public-notice and hearing procedures.