Resident warns proposed three‑lot subdivision rule would burden family land transfers

Catherine Hope Sorensen, a Jefferson County resident and landowner, told the Board of Commissioners she opposed a proposed amendment to the county’s Land Development Code that would trigger full subdivision platting any time a parcel is divided into three or more lots.

Sorensen said the rule would have forced full platting of a 56‑acre tract she purchased in parts — a process she said would have cost the original owner an estimated $10,000 to $20,000 in surveying and planning. “If the proposed amendment had been in effect at that time, the entire 57 acre tract would have been required to go through a full subdivision plat in recording process… That would have cost us, Davis, an estimated 10 to $20,000 in surveying, planning, and reporting expenses,” she said.

Sorensen argued the change would disproportionately affect modest, multigenerational landowners who split property among family members or sell a single parcel to a local buyer, while doing little to stop large‑scale development. “Land does not change its environment impact or rural character based on the last name of the buyer,” she said, urging the board to refine the language or adopt targeted standards to address infrastructure, drainage and access rather than blanket platting requirements.

Kimberly Ode, a licensed professional surveyor and vice chair of the planning commission, added technical context and warned about how similar language has been misapplied in neighboring counties, citing examples presented to the planning commission.

Next steps: the item remained in discussion; speakers asked planning staff and counsel to consider narrower alternatives and technical clarifications that would protect rural character without imposing disproportionate costs on small landowners.