Summit County Councilwoman Sally Elliott says she is leery about voting to loosen development rules on the East Side despite landowners who have opposed the development codes in eastern Summit County.
Eastsiders say rules that allow only one lot to be developed on 40 acres of land are too strict.
At issue is whether changing the zoning rules would spur unwanted urban sprawl in the rural community.
“I’m uncomfortable changing the eastern Summit County code,” Elliott said. “(Some) people are too shy to show up to public forums We need to have a process here in Summit County where people gather around in living rooms.”
People who own land in eastern Summit County say the rigid zoning rules make it difficult for them to even give a building lot to a child. Many landowners tried to sell their property when the base number of units they are allowed to build on their land was reduced about five years ago.
Eastsiders have filled meetings of the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission in the past two years to protest the rules.
“I don’t know as you’ll get a whole lot more participation,” Summit County Councilman David Ure said about the debates.
Those who spoke against the code were, “guys who have lived here several generations and are having a hard time making a living, and want to build a minor subdivision with a handful of building lots.”
People whose fields once contained crops and cattle have children and grandchildren who are not interested in working the land, Ure explained.
But few women spoke up at public hearings about the development code, Elliott countered.
The low base densities in eastern Summit County prevent many retired people from generating income from their property, Ure said.
Submit comments about zoning rules in eastern Summit County by contacting the Summit County Community Development Department at (435) 336-3124.