Planning commission recommends Summit County Council amend RV definition in Chapter 11

Snyderville Basin Planning Commission on Jan. 14, 2025, voted to recommend that the Summit County Council amend the Snyderville Basin Development Code’s Chapter 11 definition of “recreation vehicle” by removing size limits that specified recreational vehicles must be less than 9 feet wide and 35 feet long.

County planner Laura Kurmeier presented the item and said the proposal removes the width-and-length restriction from the definition because many modern recreational vehicles exceed those dimensions. Kurmeier said the proposal is legislative in nature and that staff found the amendment complies with the code; she recommended a positive recommendation to the county council. Kurmeier identified the owner of Park City RV Park, Scott Roberts, as the applicant who asked that the definition be updated to avoid future nonconformity at his site.

Commissioner discussion focused on how changing the RV definition could affect future campground applications. Commissioner Matt raised a concern that the definition of campground—an allowed use in certain zones—could allow very large RVs to locate where lower-impact tent camping might be expected. Kurmeier responded that campground is a conditional use in the three zones listed (hillside stewardship, mountain remote, and community commercial) and that conditional-use review would allow the commission to add conditions of approval to mitigate impacts if needed. She also said the numeric limits in the current definition likely reflected common RV sizes at the time the code language was adopted and that the proposed change is intended to update that language.

After discussion, a motion to positively recommend the amendment to the Summit County Council was made, seconded and approved on a roll call vote of 4-0. Those recorded voting yes were Matthew (Aye), McKenna (Aye), Megan (Aye) and one additional commissioner (recorded yes on the roll call). The commission’s action is a formal recommendation only; final approval would be decided by the Summit County Council through the legislative process.

The commission record shows no public comments were received on the amendment during the hearing. Kurmeier said the change could also affect future campground applications because “campground” in the code refers to movable or temporary sleeping quarters of any kind, which would include recreation vehicles. The commission did not change the wording of the campground definition during this meeting; Kurmeier said staff could revisit that definition separately if the commission wished.

The commission’s recommendation forwards the proposed Chapter 11 amendment to the Summit County Council for its consideration under the county’s legislative review process.