Page County planning commission approves event-venue zoning changes, adds emergency restroom allowance

The Page County Planning Commission voted to approve proposed zoning ordinance amendments for banquet and event venues and asked staff to add language permitting temporary restroom trailers or porta-potties in narrowly defined emergency situations.

The commission adopted the draft ordinance “as presented” with the specific modification after a motion from Miss Grech and a second; the motion passed on a roll call with Mister Adams, Miss Grech and Chairman Burner voting yes. The action followed staff discussion of legal feedback from County Attorney Michael Helm and earlier subcommittee work with the Berkeley Group draft.

Why it matters: the amendments aim to clarify what qualifies as an event venue, tighten the ordinance language so a building must be present for an event venue, and avoid overlaps with Chapter 55 that staff said governs events more broadly. Commissioners said the change will make the ordinance cleaner and easier for the Board of Supervisors and the public to read.

During debate, commissioners narrowed several points that will be reflected in the final text sent to the county attorney: minimum acreage questions (the draft contains a 15-acre reference in some places but commissioners discussed removing a minimum in commercial zones), where to place language requiring a building, and whether full-time on-site management should be a mandatory standard or a condition attached to a special use permit. On-site management was left as a condition to be tailored to scale rather than a universal requirement.

On portable restroom wording, commissioners discussed options that included a broad ‘emergency’ exception and more specific language allowing temporary restroom trailers when “permanent restroom facilities are temporarily inoperable.” Commissioners debated time limits (24–48 hours) and delegated staff to draft clear wording that prevents routine abuse while preserving public safety. As one commissioner summarized during the discussion, the practical fix was to permit porta-potties “except during construction or if it’s inoperable for a period of up to 24 hours.”

Next steps: staff will incorporate the agreed clarifications, clean up the redline draft, and forward the ordinance to the county attorney and then to the Board of Supervisors. The commission did not schedule a public hearing during the meeting; staff signaled they will return with the finalized language for the Board’s review.

Commissioners, staff and the citizen who spoke were careful to distinguish discussion items from the formal action the commission took: the vote approved the draft with the limited emergency-restroom modification and sent it onward rather than creating immediate new enforcement rules.

The adopted amendment and the staff-prepared clean draft will be submitted to the county attorney for review and then placed on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda for subsequent consideration.