Commission approves heirs-exemption changes and companion zoning amendment after debate over lot-size limits

The Clay County Planning Commission voted to approve a county-initiated comprehensive plan amendment (comp 25-7) and a companion land development code change (zone 25-00003) that extend heirs-exemption opportunities into the Brandonfield and Lake Asbury master-plan areas and remove a previously included maximum lot-size restriction.

Beth Carson, director of Planning and Zoning, explained that the amendment will make the comprehensive plan language more general so the heirs-exemption opportunity, which allows a landowner to "cut off a smaller piece of land and give it to an heir," can apply in master-plan communities where it had previously been excluded. "The heirs exemption allows for a property owner to cut off a smaller piece of land and give it to an heir," Carson said, adding the intent is that the lot will be used as the heir's home site.

Carson told commissioners the county code already contains heirs-exemption language; the proposed code amendment would add Brandonfield and Lake Asbury master-plan classifications to the list of eligible areas, remove the maximum-lot-size line the Lake Asbury CAC recommended deleting, and clarify deed and legal-description requirements for transferred parcels.

Lake Asbury Citizens Advisory Committee chair Jim Ryan spoke in public comment on behalf of the CAC, saying the CAC supported the change and had raised concerns that a one-acre maximum could make lots unbuildable in areas that require septic systems. "For those areas requiring septic, you may run into a problem that you have to have more than a 1 acre lot to put in a septic tank," Ryan said.

Helena Cormier, a Lake Asbury CAC member and a realtor, told the commission she represented residents who could not previously use the exemption in Lake Asbury and preferred the change. "There are many people that would love for this to be approved for the Lake Asbury and the Brandon Field," Cormier said.

Commissioners debated the risk that unrestricted lot sizes could be abused to create backdoor subdivisions and noted existing safeguards. Staff said the heirs exemption is intended for a single heir and that there are retention requirements: two years for a lot on which a house is built, five years for raw land; a military service exception preserves exemption status while an heir is serving abroad. Carson and other speakers also noted the transfer becomes a recorded lot and that selling it before the retention period or acting outside the exemption could remove the special status and subject the parcel to ordinary zoning and subdivision rules.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the comp-plan amendment and the companion code amendment; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

Votes and action: the commission recorded a motion to approve comp 25-7 (heirs-exemption policy amendment) and a motion to approve zone 25-00003 (land development code amendment to add Brandonfield and Lake Asbury classifications and remove maximum lot-size language). Both motions passed on voice votes; roll-call tallies were not specified in the transcript.

Next steps: staff recommended transmittal of the comp-plan amendment and forwarding the code change to the BCC; the zoning/code-change will be heard by the BCC after state review of the comp-plan amendment.