TREMONTON CITY CORPORATION
PLANNING COMMISSION
May 24, 2016

Members Present:
Robert Anderson, Chairman
Ben Greener, Commission Member
Arnold Eberhard, Commission Member
Val Bennett, Commission Member
Troy Forrest, Commission Member – excused
Micah Capener, Commission Member – arrived at 5:32 p.m.
Tom Stokes, Commission Member
Bret Rohde, City Councilmember
Steve Bench, Zoning Administrator
Linsey Nessen, Deputy Recorder

Chairman Robert Anderson called the Planning Commission Meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was held May 24, 2016 in the City Council Meeting Room at 102 South Tremont Street, Tremonton, Utah. Chairman Robert Anderson, Commission Member Ben Greener, Commission Member Arnold Eberhard, Commission Member Val Bennett, Commission Member Micah Capener (arrived at 5:32 p.m.), Commission Member Tom Stokes, City Councilmember Bret Rohde, Zoning Administrator Steve Bench, and Deputy Recorder Linsey Nessen were in attendance. Commission Member Troy Forrest was excused.

1. Approval of agenda:

Motion by Commission Member Stokes to approve the May 24, 2016 agenda. Motion seconded by Commission Member Greener. Vote: Chairman Anderson – aye, Commission Member Greener, Commission Member Eberhard – aye, Commission Member Bennett – aye, and Commission Member Stokes – aye. Motion approved.

2. Approval of minutes:

Motion by Commission Member Bennett to approve the April 12, 2016 and April 26, 2016 minutes. Motion seconded by Commission Member Eberhard. Vote: Chairman Anderson – aye, Commission Member Greener, Commission Member Eberhard – aye, Commission Member Bennett – aye, and Commission Member Stokes – aye for April 12, 2016 minutes, abstain for April 26, 2016 minutes as he was not in attendance for that meeting. Motion approved.

3. New Business:

a. Discussion of amending the Title II Subdivision Ordinance adding Chapter 2.07 Lot Splits

Zoning Administrator Bench gave a quick background. Some parts of the City do not have the sewer yet, and some are up to 1 ½ miles from the sewer. An individual wants to build in northeast Tremonton and the sewer is well over a mile away. It would cost $500K to provide sewer for one house. Current code says homes must be connected to the sewer.

Commission Member Greener asked if the homes built on 2300 West and 1000 North are connected to the sewer. Zoning Administrator Bench said they are not on the sewer as they were built prior to the change in the code requiring all homes to be connected. Those lots have been grandfathered.

The City has devised a lot split ordinance. Chapter 2.07.035 covers approval standards and 2.07.40 lists required improvements. Commission Member Eberhard asked about 2.07.035 b. Zoning Administrator Bench explained that a twenty (20) acre parcel could have four (4) homes and a sixty (60) acre parcel could have a maximum of five (5) homes. This is a way to allow a few single homes to build without hooking to the sewer. The lot must be in the correct zoning and there must be a half acre minimum for a septic tank.

The individual that approached the City is looking at property in the R1-20 zone half acre lot. The parcel he is dividing off of is a 9 ½ acre parcel and this change would allow two (2) homes on the parcel without hooking to the sewer. Commission Member Capener asked if the individual must own four (4) acres. Zoning Administrator Bench said he does not need to have four (4) acres because it goes off the parent parcel regardless of who owns the other property. Zoning Administrator Bench noted it will be recorded on each title. Once the sewer reaches the area it will not be necessary.

Councilmember Rohde stated there was a subdivision that wanted to go in above Commission Member Capener and the City required them to run a sewer line. Commission Member Capener said it is loosening the standards and gives some people a solution and has a way to regulate. He does not like the unpredictability as things change so much. The City Council made a decision and a letter went out two (2) months ago saying the subdivision could not have a septic tank. Councilmember Rohde said the Council is bound by regulations. Zoning Administration Bench said the regulations are being changed because of the drive from the public. Commission Member Capener said the changes need to happen because the code has been too strict.

Commission Member Greener noted that the homes on 2300 West and 1000 North that have septic tanks want to be hooked to the City’s sewer but it should have been done in development. He would like to go stricter on the code. Zoning Administrator Bench said that development should pay for the cost. It should not be put on the tax payers that have been here for years to help pay for the sewer to new homes.

Zoning Administrator Bench said the City code is back to the State Statute that requires new homes to hook to the sewer if they are within 300 feet. Commission Member Capener has concerns with people paying up front and it taking a long time before it is installed. The City might end up paying a lot more money when they hook up in the future. It may be better to have them do a deferral agreement like Box Elder County. It would be recorded on the property saying the curb, gutter, sewer, etc. is being deferred.

Zoning Administrator Bench said they are collecting a fee in lieu for curb and gutter for thirty (30) feet of frontage because he is a private lane. Commission Member Capener wondered if the City will actually have the money to do that when they get there. Right now there is nowhere for curb and gutter to drain on Main Street. It will be a long time before the City gets to the thirty (30) feet of frontage and with inflation the money collected today will not be enough. He thinks it would be better not to collect money and do a deferral agreement. Zoning Administrator Bench stated the City use to have deferral agreements but an attorney said the deferrals where no longer good after fifteen (15) years. Things may be different today with the wording and how they are handled. Commission Member Capener is not aware of a recorded deferral agreement. If they are not recorded they are not enforceable.

It was noted by Zoning Administrator Bench that a lot split is still a subdivision. This change is specific to a lot split if they do not have sewer. A lot can be divided in half if it meets the zoning. Commission Members Bennett and Capener said it may need to be better identified as pertaining to lots without sewer. Commission Member Bennet would like the title to say Septic Lot Splits to distinguish it from regular lot splits. Commission Member Bennett would like it to specify that it relates in particular to wastewater or sewage. He did not know that it was specifically for septic systems. Zoning Administrator Bench noted the general purpose was the sewer but it does not relieve them from the other improvements. They must pay a fee if lieu to have the improvements done in the future. They also must still connect to the City’s culinary water.

Commission Member Capener does not like how big the lots are in Bothwell. The homes are so far apart and the lots are too big to maintain and too small to use a tractor. If homes are spread apart every four acres it will be hard to fund a sewer system. Zoning Administrator Bench said the City Attorney has a copy of this change but he has not responded yet.

If a home has culinary water they must have a half acre parcel minimum for a septic system but if they have a well they must have at least an acre and a half. Culinary water is spread out farther than the sewer system. The water system goes farther because of fire code requirements.

Zoning Administrator Bench said the City has collected a fee in lieu from a home by 1000 West. The work will probably be completed within the next two (2) years. Commission Member Greener thinks it’s a good idea to collect a fee in lieu. Commission Member Capener agrees the City should collect a fee in lieu if the work will be complete within five (5) to ten (10) years. Commission Member Stokes remarked that homes in Beaver Dam had something on their deed to put oil on the road and the County ultimately split the cost with the home owners.

If the work will not be completed for a long time, Commission Member Capener does not want to collect a fee in lieu. Commission Member Bennett said the developer would then be required to do the improvements. Zoning Administrator Bench said the City has several roads on the Master Plan to be built out within the next ten (10) or so years. He will review the code with City Staff and make changes so it is easier to identify that it is for septic tanks.

There is a public hearing set for June 14, 2016. The Commission would like to see the code once revisions have been made and the attorney has reviewed. Zoning Administrator Bench will get the Commission a copy of the revisions before the public hearing so they have time to review. The Commission gave Zoning Administrator Bench their comments on the code as it stands.

4. Adjournment

Motion by Commission Member Greener to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by consensus of the Board. The meeting adjourned at 6:04 p.m.

The undersigned duly acting and appointed Recorder for Tremonton City Corporation hereby certifies that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Planning Commission held on the above referenced date. Minutes were prepared by Cynthia Nelson.

Dated this _____day of ___________, 2016.

______________________________
Linsey Nessen, DEPUTY RECORDER

*Utah Code 52-4-202, (6) allows for a topic to be raised by the public and discussed by the public body even though it was not included in the agenda or advance public notice given; however, no final action will be taken.