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Land-use advocates warn proposed changes to protest petition rules would curtail neighbor protections
Summary
HB 6,996 would raise the threshold for protest petitions against zoning changes from 20% to 50% of property within 500 feet and reduce voting thresholds, a combination critics said would weaken long-standing local protections for neighbors and undermine precedent on proximity-based rights.
Several municipal planners, attorneys and local residents urged the Planning and Development Committee to reject or substantially amend HB 6,996, which would alter the protest-petition rules for zoning changes.
Kathy Braun and other testifiers argued the statute recognizes that owners within close proximity to a proposed zoning action have a special interest in land-use changes. Braun cited Supreme Court precedent and the state statute's historical purpose, saying the protest-petition threshold was intended to give abutting owners an ability to require a supermajority vote where their property interests are immediately affected.
Opponents warned that changing the formula to require 50% of land ownership within 500 feet would make it practically impossible for neighbors to exercise the existing protection in many settings — especially where a single large parcel or large landowners are present. Braun said the change would reverse 66 years of policy intended to protect proximate owners and noted that other provisions of the zoning statute already provide appeal rights and required notice to abutters.
Supporters of changes to protest procedures (noted earlier by some proponents of expedited zoning reform) argued there has been an increase in protest petitions that they characterize as blocking needed changes, but many planners and TPZ representatives suggested more moderate options such as raising the protesting-land threshold modestly rather than to 50%, or preserving a supermajority requirement while adjusting petition percentage thresholds.
No formal vote was taken at the hearing. Committee members heard competing views on how to balance neighborhood protections with attempts to streamline zoning changes.
