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Commission discusses ADU and short-term rental rules, septic and sewer constraints
Summary
Commissioners and staff debated gaps in Levan's ordinance on ADUs and short-term rentals, raised health-department septic and water constraints, and asked staff and the agency official to draft possible ordinance language and present it at a future public hearing.
Members used the office reports to examine whether a permitted outbuilding could function as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or short-term rental and identified gaps in current local code. Commissioners noted a recently passed state bill affects ADU requirements for municipalities of a certain size and raised specific technical constraints: the health department's guidance that 0.5 acre is typically needed to support a second septic system, concerns about water availability, and the high capital cost of installing centralized sewer systems in small towns.
"If it's on an individual parcel, then it's gonna be treated as another home. And if it's on the same parcel, then it's, like, gonna be treated as an ADU," an agency official said while discussing how other jurisdictions handle plumbing and utility hookups. Commissioners requested draft ordinance language, sample codes from the agency's office and one or more public hearings before any adoption. Staff offered to send model ordinances and to present training in an upcoming work session so the commission can weigh limitations tied to septic, water, frontage and utility impacts.
