The Manila Town Council on Aug. 14 sent the draft glamping (short-term lodging) ordinance back to the planning-and-zoning commission with several specific recommendations covering minimum lot size, density, parking, spacing between sites, utilities, waste collection, fencing and fire-review requirements.

Mayor Kathy Knight opened the glamping discussion by asking council members for feedback on a planning-proposed draft. Planning staff explained the proposal would treat several stationary lodging options (yurts, fixed tents, small cabins or similar structures) more like hotel/motel uses for zoning purposes while distinguishing them from recreational-vehicle (RV) parks.

The council's explicit recommendations, captured in the meeting, are:
- Minimum lot size: send the draft back with a recommended 2-acre minimum as the baseline; if a project is less than 2 acres, the council directed planning staff to treat density more conservatively (8 units per acre) for those cases.
- Density: adopt a default maximum of 10 glamping units per acre and a project cap of 100 units; for parcels under 2 acres, council discussed applying an 8-units-per-acre limit.
- Parking: require at least one on-site 24-by-10-foot parking space per glamping unit; staff will recalculate aggregate parking and circulation if the 10-units-per-acre standard is retained.
- Spacing between sites: require a minimum distance between glamping sites to reduce noise and preserve privacy; council debated numbers and directed staff to word the requirement as a minimum of 25 feet between sites (measured right-side-to-left-side), with the planning commission to confirm site-measurement language.
- Site surfacing and circulation: require all-weather surfaces for parking pads and designated circulation (existing packet language proposed "all-weather surface" for parking areas).
- Utilities and shared amenities: require one bathroom facility per two units where communal restrooms are used or one fully furnished bathroom per unit if private; council discussed that, at a 10-unit cluster, an external building with approximately five toilet/shower fixtures would be appropriate. Laundry facilities should be provided; council agreed on a minimum that would equate to approximately two washers and two dryers per 10 sites with additional capacity "as needed" per developer choice.
- Fencing and buffers: require a six-foot privacy fence along property lines abutting residential zones (sides and rear); a front-street fence should be optional and limited to four feet where used to maintain streetscape visibility.
- Waste collection: require a centralized, fully screened and bear-safe commercial dumpster enclosure on-site; council asked staff to ensure the enclosure prevents overflow and to include an on-site commercial service arrangement (frequency as appropriate rather than a fixed weekly minimum).
- Fire and access review: require development-review-committee review and explicit input from the fire marshal and UDOT for highway access concerns; staff confirmed the fire marshal sits on the development-review committee.

Council members also asked planning staff to require the developer to pay legal and engineering review costs ("pay all attorneys' fees and engineering fees involved"), mirroring terms used in prior development agreements such as the Pinnacle project.

Planning staff was asked to recalculate parking and overflow needs consistent with the density recommendations and return an amended draft to the planning commission for review before the council's next hearing. The council directed staff to convey the recommended changes to the planning-and-zoning commission and to the development-review committee for technical review, including fire and UDOT access.

Public comment during the meeting included a three-minute statement from Justin Von Eberstein, who urged that any lodging restrictions be supported by objective data as required under the Utah Land Use and Development Act.

Action: The council moved, seconded and agreed to send the glamping draft back to planning and zoning with the recommended changes and technical clarifications described above.

Ending: Planning staff will recirculate a revised draft incorporating the council's directions (2-acre baseline, density caps, parking and spacing clarifications, fencing and trash provisions, and development-review and fire-marshal review) and return it through planning and zoning for further public review before the council's next meeting.