Council tables measure to expand site‑built home size and height in Canyon RV Park after debate over precedent and parking

Hurricane City Council on Thursday voted to table consideration of an ordinance that would amend the city’s land‑use code to allow larger site‑built dwellings in certain platted RV park lots, a proposal the applicant said aims to improve livability but that several council members said could set an undesirable precedent.

The proposed code change (ordinance 2025‑12; LUCA 25‑04) would increase the allowable height and footprint for site‑built dwellings in a specific platted RV park subdivision (Canyon RV Park) that was recorded before January 2020 and that is served by individual meters. Under a 2019 code change the city already permits a single‑story stick‑built dwelling up to 900 square feet on lots in such subdivisions. The applicant asked the council to raise the height limit to 35 feet and to allow larger building footprints, enabling two‑story homes between roughly 1,200 and 1,400 square feet (staff proposed treating the 900‑square‑foot limit as a footprint measurement).

Planning staff and the planning commission both recommended approval; the commission voted 6–0 in support and said the change would only apply to Canyon RV Park because it is the only subdivision that meets the meter and recording criteria. Planning commissioners noted the change could help provide more affordable single‑family options in the area and that the existing condition had created a difficult situation over several decades.

The property owner, who addressed the council at length, described long‑standing constraints in the subdivision: small lot sizes (about 2,500 square feet), an HOA with a high threshold for votes to change the plat, shared infrastructure issues dating to the 1980s, and an existing stock of small single‑family homes and park models. The owner said buyers prefer slightly larger, 2‑story plans with garages and that the change could make units easier to finance and sell.

Council members raised multiple concerns. Several said allowing two stories on the tiny lots would amount to “backdoor zoning,” converting previously restricted lots into essentially R‑1 density without following a broader rezoning process. Members pressed the applicant about parking, setbacks, and whether enlarging the allowable height and footprint would simply defer or worsen infrastructure and congestion problems. One councilmember said past incremental changes to RV‑park rules had not resolved problems and cautioned against repeating that pattern.

After the discussion Councilmember Preach moved and Councilmember Hershey seconded a motion to table the item; the motion passed. The motion as presented did not set a return date, leaving the applicant the option to return when they have revisions.