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Fairfield planning commissioners recommend repeal of airport overlay, leave AMUZ unsigned after split vote
Summary
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward a recommendation to repeal the Airpark Overlay Zone and scheduled further review of the Airpark Mixed‑Use Zone (AMUZ). Commissioners tabled the Lovendahl site plan and continued the landscape ordinance public hearing, setting a March 23 follow‑up meeting.
Fairfield Planning Commission members voted March 19 to recommend that the Town Council repeal the Airpark Overlay Zone and not replace it, while sending the draft Airpark Mixed‑Use Zone (AMUZ) back for further review. The commission unanimously approved forwarding repeal of the overlay and scheduled a March 23 meeting to review revisions to the AMUZ and landscape code amendments.
Town attorney Brad Christopherson told the commission the overlay repeal would default regulation to state code and ease legal pressure on affected landowners, advising commissioners they could repeal the overlay now and reconsider replacement language later. Commissioner David Riet moved to forward repeal with a positive recommendation; Commissioner Jamie Mascaro seconded the motion and the measure passed unanimously.
The AMUZ ordinance drew extensive public comment but no commission recommendation. A motion to forward the AMUZ to the Town Council with the condition that staff and legal counsel review and incorporate all verbal and written comments failed 2–3. Commissioners cited substantial unresolved issues raised at the hearing — including disputed factual recitals in the draft, concerns about wildlife and flight‑path impacts, and possible conflicts with federal aviation authority — and set a follow‑up session for Monday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m.
The meeting also addressed two related items: the commission unanimously tabled the Lovendahl site plan after the town attorney advised irrigation‑company approval should be obtained before final action, and the public hearing on proposed landscape code changes was continued to allow clearer language about whether hangar homes are treated as residential or nonresidential for landscaping standards.
Why it matters: the overlay repeal narrows the town’s immediate regulatory footprint around West Desert Airpark, returning statutory default authority to state airport zoning law. But the AMUZ draft — which would set specific uses, conditional‑use criteria and operational limits for the airpark — remains contested. The commission’s next meeting will determine whether the AMUZ is revised and forwarded to the Town Council for final action.
Votes at a glance: the overlay repeal recommendation passed unanimously; the motion to forward the AMUZ with conditions failed on a 2–3 vote; the Lovendahl site plan was tabled by unanimous vote.
