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Willard City Council approves updated Master Plan Community (MPC) rules with clarifications on density, trails and lot sizes
Summary
Council approved ordinance amending the city's Master Plan Community zone (MPZ/ MPC) with edits including striking a cap on homes per street, making trail surface language flexible, and defining "developable acre" and a minimum lot size of 14,500 sq ft.
Willard City Council voted to approve an ordinance updating the city's Master Plan Community (MPC or MPZ) rules after an extended discussion about density, lot sizes, trails and developer obligations.
The council approved the ordinance in a roll-call vote after members agreed to several edits described during the meeting: remove a line capping the maximum number of homes on a single street, retain a 600-foot maximum block length between intersections, replace a requirement that trails "shall be constructed out of concrete" with a flexible hard-surface standard to be reviewed by the city engineer, and add or clarify a definition of "developable acre" that excludes streets, storm basins and sensitive non-buildable areas. Council members also directed that the minimum lot size be stated as mandatory: "no lot shall be smaller than 14,500 square feet."
Council members said the changes are intended to give staff clearer standards to use in negotiations with developers while preserving the city's general-plan expectations for lot size and frontage. Council member comments during the discussion emphasized balancing the community's stated preference for larger lots with giving staff a usable tool to negotiate projects that also provide open space and improved street design.
Council members repeatedly said the MPC is intended to be a negotiable tool rather than a mandate. The approved edits include language allowing a fee-in-lieu option for required open space that could permit up to a 20% density increase under limited circumstances, provided those payments are used to develop or expand parks or other public open space.
The vote: motion to approve by Mike (council member), second by Jake (council member). Roll call: Jake, Mike, Rex and Jordan voted yes; the motion carried.
Council directed staff to revise the ordinance text to: (1) define "developable acre" as total acreage minus streets, storm basins and sensitive non-buildable areas; (2) change trail language to require a durable hard surface approved by the city engineer rather than mandating concrete; (3) strike the single-street cap language and retain the 600-foot block-length standard; and (4) change the phrase indicating minimum lot size from "should" to "shall" so that the 14,500-square-foot minimum is mandatory in the MPZ language. Council asked staff to reissue the amended draft for public distribution and to continue using the ordinance as a negotiation tool on incoming MPC applications.
