Planning Commission backs ordinance to set minimum lot area, cap residential density

The Clark County Planning Commission voted July 7 to recommend Ordinance 02-26, an amendment to county zoning rules that increases minimum lot area and establishes a maximum residential density in agricultural districts.

Planning staff (Luke Muller) outlined the ordinance's provisions governing front, side and rear yard setbacks, lot widths, height limits and a cap on the number of dwellings allowed within a U.S. Public Land Survey (USPLS) quarter section. The commission amended several sections to replace the term "residence" with "single family dwelling" and debated two proposed Residential Density Bonuses. The body approved changes to clarify definitions and eliminated the proposed Residential Density Bonus B (which would have allowed manufactured home permits under certain farmstead conditions); the remaining Density Bonus A can allow up to four single-family dwellings in a quarter section provided at least two lots are 35 acres or larger.

Members of the public raised mixed views: Mitch Peterson requested clearer definitions for "dwelling" and "residence," Doug Paulson said he wants to plat land to create additional lots, and Steve Wendling questioned why tighter residential restrictions were being added given local population decline. The Planning Commission passed its recommendation with unanimous votes and Luke performed the ordinance's first reading; the second reading is scheduled for July 21, 2026.

The ordinance, if adopted after the second reading, would change how residential density is managed in agricultural zones and provide a Conditional Use pathway for limited density increases under the Density Bonus A provisions.