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Millville council delays vote on residential zoning overhaul after concerns about lot-size rounding and duplex eligibility
Summary
The council postponed final action on Ordinance 2026-1, which would consolidate residential zoning chapters and add a 1-acre minimum lot zone, after members raised concerns about exact-square-foot thresholds that could block an annexed parcel from hosting a duplex. The item will return when a full council can review clarifications.
Mayor David Hair and the Millville City Council postponed final action Tuesday on Ordinance 2026-1, a proposed rewrite of the city's residential zoning code that would create a new 1-acre minimum lot-size zone and consolidate existing residential chapters into a single chapter. Development Coordinator Kara Everton presented the draft and explained the Planning Commission's recommendations, including moving certain animal-building distance requirements into the Animal Code.
The central disagreement concerned whether the code should list exact square-foot thresholds or use rounded, approximate acre numbers. Councilmembers Pamela June and Ryan Zollinger said retaining rounded numbers (for example, referring to lots as “1/3-acre” or using the traditional 14,000-square-foot figure) preserves flexibility and affordability. Recorder Corey Twedt raised a specific case: a property owner who annexed a 20,909-square-foot lot under prior rules could lose the ability to build a duplex if the new code requires an exact half-acre (21,780 square feet).
Councilmember Jacob Ames urged that the annexed parcel be grandfathered or provided a variance so the owner can proceed with the duplex he expected to build when he annexed the lot. Planning Commissioner Bonnie Farmer said that, at the Planning and Zoning hearing, a banker expressed a preference for exact numbers for clarity.
Councilmember Zollinger moved, and Councilmember June seconded, to postpone adoption until a future meeting when the full council could be present to weigh in and to allow staff to clarify the lot-size language and duplex standards. The motion passed 4–0, with Councilmember Jeremy Ward excused.
What changed: under the draft, the Planning Commission replaced rounded acreage descriptions with exact square-foot figures in the code table; the Commission also recommended limiting private lane flag lots on the bulb portion of cul-de-sacs. Councilmembers asked staff to return with amended table language that either restores approximate acreage language or explicitly notes when rounding is intended. Coordinator Everton indicated she would work with P&Z on clarifying language and other minor edits requested by council members.
Next steps: Staff will revise the ordinance language to address the lot-size rounding and duplex-eligibility issue and return the ordinance for a future council meeting when all members can participate.
