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Planning commission narrows proposed forestry uses, defers final vote to Sept. 24
Summary
Staff presented a consolidated forestry zoning chapter (19.24) that removes several conditional uses and adds public parks and watershed facilities; commissioners debated permitting short‑term rentals and agreed to continue formal action to Sept. 24 after staff delivers a clarified redline by Aug. 20.
Emigration Canyon — The Emigration Canyon Planning Commission on Aug. 14 reviewed a proposed rewrite of the city's forestry and recreation zoning, with staff summarizing changes and commissioners agreeing to continue formal action until Sept. 24 to allow legal and technical edits.
Brian, a planning staff member, said the draft Chapter 19.24 consolidates older forestry chapters and "eliminated the FR50 and FR100 zones" while removing a long list of previously allowed conditional uses and adding uses such as public parks, private parks, private camper resorts (identified as intended for Camp K), small‑scale outdoor recreation, water pumping plants, reservoirs and minor public utilities. "These minor public utilities are going to be your sewer lines, mains, your water mains, your power, your cable," he said.
Commissioners focused significant attention on whether to allow short‑term rentals in forestry zones. Brian said the draft currently treats short‑term rentals as permitted uses and defined them as stays "for a period of less than 30 days." Several commissioners, including Commissioner Andy, argued for prohibiting short‑term rentals in forestry zones until public sewer or other infrastructure is available, citing septic capacity and nuisance concerns. "You're going to have overflowing septic tanks in all these rentals," one commissioner said, urging a ban in forestry zones for that reason.
The commission also discussed bed‑and‑breakfast homestays and whether owner‑occupied rules or specific use standards should allow narrow exemptions. Staff noted a bed‑and‑breakfast homestay is generally owner‑occupied and could be retained via a specific use standard that requires owner occupancy.
On technical matters, staff removed a subjective "limits of disturbance" provision in favor of referencing objective standards (FCOS) and replaced off‑street parking language with a cross‑reference to the city's off‑street parking chapter. The draft adds a landscaping standard that limits turf to no more than 50 percent of required landscaping and defers precise definitions to the definitions chapter.
After receiving the presentation and discussing policy questions, commissioners opened the advertised public hearing on the chapter and heard no public comments. The commission voted to close the hearing and then voted unanimously to continue the item for final consideration at its Sept. 24 meeting, with staff and legal counsel agreeing to provide a clear redline and a differences summary by Aug. 20 so commissioners can review changes between existing ordinance language and the proposed draft.
The commission's next procedural step is a continued public hearing and formal vote on Sept. 24. Staff committed to deliver language and an index showing where moved or condensed provisions appear so commissioners can efficiently review the revisions.
