Davis County Planning Commission approves conditional use for PAC Farms agritourism events

The Davis County Planning Commission on June 5, 2025 approved a conditional use permit allowing seasonal agritourism activities at PAC Farms, 1802 West Glover's Lane, subject to seven conditions including business licenses for vendors, health-department compliance and fire-safety review.

Planning staff told commissioners the 31-acre property has hosted farming and seasonal attractions for years and that the county's zoning code (Davis County Code section 15.26.60) permits ancillary agricultural activities on parcels of three or more acres so long as agricultural production is maintained. Staff recommended approval with conditions to ensure public safety and regulatory compliance.

Applicant Stefan Pack described the farm's history in Davis County and said the site has hosted pumpkin sales and family activities for decades. "I need a conditional use of permit to do what I've been doing for 30 years," Pack said. He told the commission the farm moved to its current site roughly two decades ago and expanded activities in recent years to include a haunted trail and other paid attractions.

Staff displayed a site plan showing an eight-acre activity area used for fall events and described proposed uses including a seasonal circus tent that can seat up to 499 people but would be capped at 400 for these events. Staff said events would be seasonal and not exceed the code limits for consecutive weeks or cumulative annual days; the code allows events on qualifying parcels so long as they do not extend beyond eight consecutive weeks and do not exceed 90 days in a calendar year.

The commission's approval is subject to these conditions read into the record by staff and adopted in the motion: (1) each vendor must obtain a Davis County business license; (2) all concessions must meet Davis County Health Department regulations; (3) the applicant must submit a written plan indicating hours of operation; (4) provide adequate off-street parking with two ingress and egress points to meet fire code as determined by county staff; (5) provide ADA-accessible restrooms (portable restrooms were noted as acceptable); (6) provide an ADA-accessible sales counter no taller than 34 inches; and (7) keep the property clean and orderly, free from garbage and debris.

Jeff Wooder, Davis County staff, said he attended the tent event last year and described it as "a nice family, friendly event. They did have staff that was directing parking and parking cars." Commissioners and staff spent much of the discussion focusing on parking and fire-safety oversight. Commission members asked staff to ensure that parking would be adequate for peak events and that parking would be off-street (not on Glover's Lane). Staff and commissioners agreed that the county's business-license and permitting process — which includes signoff from the Farmington Fire Marshal for that service area — would be the point at which detailed parking, ingress/egress and fire-safety plans are reviewed and approved for each vendor event.

During the hearing Pack described past interactions with the Farmington Fire Marshal, saying last year's event prompted an inspection and follow-up by fire officials; he said he would work with the marshal to meet fire requirements. Staff confirmed that the Farmington Fire Marshal signs off on business licenses and that vendors would not receive a license without meeting those requirements.

The commission approved the conditional use by voice vote; the motion as read by staff and adopted appears in the official minutes and is conditioned on the items above. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript excerpts provided; commissioners vocalized "Aye" when the motion passed.

With the conditional use in place, staff said each separate vendor (for example, the haunted trail operator or the traveling circus) will still submit business-license applications and undergo the county's inspection and permitting process before operating. The commission asked staff to include parking considerations in the staff report for the prospective business-license reviews so staff could determine appropriate stall counts and ingress/egress layout at the time of vendor applications.

Pack and staff said the farm intends to maintain agricultural production as required by the code and that the agritourism activities are meant to support continued farming. The commission's conditions are written to follow existing county code and to rely on the county business-license and fire-permitting process to address event-specific safety and operational details going forward.