Bicknell planning commission approves forwarding tightened home-occupation draft to town council

The Bicknell Planning & Zoning Commission voted May 20 to forward a revised home-occupation ordinance to the town council after tightening definitions and operational conditions intended to preserve residential character while allowing limited home-based businesses.

Commissioners debated how to distinguish a home occupation from a conditional use, agreeing the commission will give council two documents and copies of the relevant state code to clarify legal distinctions. "If you don't say that it is not allowed and is a conditional use, then it's allowed," the lead presenter told the group, urging clarity in the draft.

The draft sets out specific limits for certain activities. Commissioners read aloud the vehicle-repair clause and discussed storage limits: vehicles receiving work "shall not remain on the premises longer than 30 days unless stored inside an outbuilding or behind a privacy fence." Commissioners debated a proposed numeric cap on unregistered vehicles and agreed that subsections providing use and storage standards better capture the intent than a strict "three cars" limit.

On staffing, the commission removed redundant language that both limited employees to bona fide residents and separately capped the number of employees at the residence; the ordinance will instead allow residents who live at the home to work there and retain discretion to require planning commission review for operations that do not meet clerk-level conditions. The commission also confirmed that home occupations requiring employees who work on-site or that fundamentally change the character of the property could trigger conditional-use review or rezoning.

Using a local example, commissioners explained that a resident wishing to run a quilting business in a separate downtown building would not qualify as a home occupation unless the property was merged with the dwelling; selling other vendors' goods or hiring employees would convert the activity into commercial use subject to conditional-use or rezoning rules.

After final edits, Commissioner Connie Durfee moved to send the draft to town council; Commissioner Katie McDonald seconded. A roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes from Darcy King, Diane Frazier, Katie McDonald, Connie Durfee and Ellen Anderson. The motion carried.

The commission also agreed to present council with the planning commission's rationale emphasizing protection of the health, safety and welfare of residents and clearer citations to Utah state code to reduce confusion. The ordinance draft retains a path for planning commission review for exceptions and keeps the clerk involved in initial application review; the commission said council will have the recommendation packet when it takes up the matter.

The commission adjourned at the end of the meeting. The town council now must decide whether to adopt, modify, or return the draft to planning and zoning.