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Commission backs PC zone text change, asks County Commission to set minimum at 5 acres
Summary
The planning commission recommended approval of an applicant‑initiated PC zoning text amendment to lower the single‑family PC minimum from 50 to 10 acres and separately recommended the County Commission adopt a 5‑acre minimum (remove reduction language); the applicant argued the PC tool enables clustering and permanent open space protection.
The Morgan County Planning Commission voted May 28 to recommend the County Commission approve a text amendment to the PC zoning district that would lower the minimum acreage thresholds for residential Planned Community (PC) developments, and separately recommended the County Commission consider a further revision to set the minimum at 5 acres.
Staff said the PC zoning tool enables clustering, stronger open‑space protections and design standards that developers must submit in a zoning ordinance for each PC application. The applicant, Skyler Gardner, said his Cottonwood Meadows concept includes just over 10 acres with Cottonwood Creek running through the site and argued that lowering the threshold to 10 acres would allow cluster development that protects creekside open space and creates trail connections to nearby public amenities.
"If I don't have the PC zone, then I would default to an R zone ... where open space actually isn't required," the applicant said, explaining that the PC overlay lets a developer cluster homes and provide common amenities and a trail connection to the Mountain Green area.
Staff noted an earlier internal recommendation to set the minimum at 5 acres and remove reduction language; commissioners said they preferred that outcome. A motion to recommend approval of the amendment as noticed (50→10 acres) passed, followed by a separate motion that the commission recommend modifying the ordinance to set the single‑family PC minimum at 5 acres (period) and remove the reduction language; both motions passed.
Public commenter Tina Kelly cautioned that past PRUDs and development agreements had not always preserved promised open space and amenities in perpetuity; she asked for the full code context and assurances about road standards, maintenance and enforcement to be attached to any change.
Staff said Tier 1 PC submittal requirements (for smaller PC applications) require a narrative, conceptual development plan, design standards and maps, and that PC applicants would still have to prove that a PC application produced a development better than could be achieved under straight zoning. The commission agreed to forward both recommendations to the County Commission, and staff will provide notice and revised language for that hearing.
