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Planning council backs lowering master‑planned community minimum to about one square mile
Summary
After debate over precedent and scale, the planning council recommended the Board of County Commissioners amend the master‑planned community (MPC) ordinance to reduce the minimum acreage from 750 to 640 acres (plus or minus 10%). The recommendation followed applicant requests to reduce the threshold to 550 acres.
The Bannock County Planning and Development Council on June 18 voted to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners amend the zoning ordinance’s master‑planned community (MPC) standards to reduce the minimum required acreage from 750 acres to 640 acres plus or minus 10%.
Applicant Matt Lou had asked the council to lower the minimum to 550 acres to allow development options on a parcel he and partners control near Crystal Springs and the county landfill. Council discussion focused on the ordinance’s intent, the origin of the current 750‑acre threshold, and the risk of setting a precedent that might invite future requests for still smaller MPCs.
Staff told the council the 750‑acre figure was chosen without a rigorous study and that the county has limited examples of MPCs. Council members expressed concern that a large reduction could make future applications more common; several members favored a compromise. One council member proposed using 640 acres — roughly one square mile — with a plus or minus 10% allowance, noting that the director already may grant minor variances on the order of 10% under the ordinance.
The council’s motion recommended the change from 750 acres to 640 acres (±10%). The council recorded the motion as carrying at the hearing. The recommendation goes to the Board of County Commissioners for final action. If the commissioners approve an amendment, the MPC standard change would alter minimum acreage required for future master‑planned community applications and could affect how mixed‑use, large‑scale developments are proposed and reviewed in Bannock County.
