Spring City planning commission recommends survey, public hearing on reducing minimum lot size to 0.5 acre

The Spring City Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that the city hold a public hearing and conduct a community survey about reducing the minimum buildable lot size for properties inside city limits from 1.06 acres to 0.5 acre.

The commission's recommendation, approved after extended discussion, asks the council to authorize a public hearing and for planning staff to develop a short, controlled survey (suggested length: 30 days) to gather residents' and property owners' views. Planning members discussed whether responses should be limited to property owners or include renters and agreed staff should check state law before finalizing the list of who will be eligible to respond.

The action grew out of a recent City Council request for a recommendation. Planning commissioners said the goal of a simple, primarily yes-or-no survey question is to reduce confusion that arose from a prior survey and make the results easier to tabulate. Commissioner Kate Penny said the question can be short and clear: whether respondents favor "reducing buildable lot sizes in the Spring City boundary from 1.06 acres to 0.5 acre." Commissioners also proposed distributing the survey via QR code at meetings and by mail or utility/property notices for people who do not use smartphones.

Commissioners debated how to control responses so the survey reflects eligible participants. Several commissioners suggested numbered paper ballots mailed to property owners and a process to let owners respond in person with ID or property documentation; others cautioned that state law and the city's ordinance may bar excluding renters from participating if they meet the city's residency definition. Commissioner Marty (last name not specified) said staff should confirm the legal limits, and a staff member said they would check with the state about whether the survey may be limited to property owners or must include all residents.

The commission discussed legal context that could affect the process. Kate Penny noted a 2023 amendment to state law on so-called ballot-box zoning: if a local legislative body adopts a land-use regulation unanimously, it may not be subject to referendum. The commission heard that unanimous council approval could block a citizen referendum, whereas even a single council "no" vote could leave the change subject to a referendum.

Commissioners agreed the planning body should hold a public informational session to present pros and cons, allow limited public comment, and make a recommendation to the council based on the hearing and survey results. They set an expectation that surveys would be open about 30 days (some commissioners discussed longer windows such as 90 days) and that the commission would provide the City Council with its recommendation at the council meeting following the public-notice and hearing process.

At the conclusion of the discussion a commissioner moved the recommendation that the Planning and Zoning Commission schedule and notice a public hearing, develop and run a controlled survey (with procedures to verify eligibility as appropriate after consulting state guidance), and then provide a recommendation to the City Council based on the hearing and survey. Another commissioner seconded the motion, and the commission voted unanimously to forward that recommendation to the council.

The commission and staff will now draft the proposed survey question, decide the recipient list after verifying legal constraints, set the survey period, and prepare public-notice materials for the hearing. The commission said it would present the draft letter and survey instrument to members before the next planning meeting so they could finalize the recommendation to the City Council.