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Planning commission recommends buffer-yard requirement for commercial properties next to homes
Summary
The Springdale Planning Commission recommended an ordinance revision Dec. 3 that would require enhanced buffering and screening for commercial properties immediately adjacent to residential parcels, offering three buffer options and requiring owners to consult adjacent residential property owners.
The Springdale Planning Commission voted Dec. 3 to recommend an amendment to chapter 10-18 that would require enhanced buffering and screening on commercial properties immediately adjacent to residential properties.
Tom, presenting the proposal, said the change would make enhanced buffering a condition of design development review for commercial developments abutting residential properties and would provide three options for compliance: a narrow option with fencing and trees, a middle option with a berm, fence and landscaping, and a wide landscaped buffer without fencing. "As a condition of design development review approval ... there will now be an additional enhanced requirement for that commercial property to provide ... enhanced screening and buffering," Tom said.
Commissioners discussed whether the requirement should trigger based on the zone or on the actual land use proposed. A public comment letter from Craig Hale prompted questions about mixed-use zones where a development in a commercial zone might instead be residential. Commissioners agreed to revise the ordinance language so the buffer is required when a property has a commercial use — explicitly including short-term rentals — and the property line is adjacent to a residential zone.
Members also raised fire-safety concerns. One commissioner asked whether House Bill 48 (defensible spaces) affects plant selection; Tom and others said the town's approved plant list can avoid prohibited species and that most commercial parcels discussed likely lie outside the wildland interface per the local fire district.
The commission moved to recommend approval of the ordinance revision with the clarified language and voted unanimously to pass the recommendation. The recommendation will be forwarded to the town council for final action.
Next steps: The planning commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to the town council for consideration and possible adoption into the town code.
