Regular Session

Approved Meeting Minutes Fairfield Planning Commission Regular Meeting November 5, 2025 Minutes Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Location: Fairfield Town Office 121 West Main Street Fairfield, Utah Time: 7:00 P.M. Minutes By: Recorder: Stephanie Shelley Call to Order 1)​ Roll Call Chairman Taylor opened the meeting at 7:00 pm David Riet, Wayne Taylor, Kyler Fisher, Jami Mascaro, Kelton Butterfield Staff Present: Recorder: Stephanie Shelley, Mayor: Hollie McKinney, Attorney: Brad Christopherson, Others Present: Tal Adair, Michael Weber Via Zoom: Jane Chairman Taylor introduced Brad Christopherson (attorney) as the Town’s new legal counsel. Consent Items The Commission may approve these items without discussion or public comment and may remove an item to the Business Items for discussion and consideration. 1)​ Minutes: August 6, 2025; August 14, 2025; September 3, 2025; September 9, 2025; The Commissioners discussed wording in the August 14, 2025, minutes regarding private wells/well-sharing and agreed the Recorder would adjust the language to reflect the discussion more accurately. Commissioner Mascaro motion to pass the consent minutes for August 6, 2025; August 14, 2025; September 3, 2025; and September 9, 2025. Commissioner Riet seconded the motion. Unanimously approved Commissioner Taylor - Yes Commissioner Riet - Yes Commissioner Fisher - Yes Commissioner Mascaro - Yes Commissioner Butterfield - Yes Business Items The Commissioners will discuss (without public comment) and may either make a recommendation to the Town Council or approve the following items as needed: 1)​ Fairfield Industrial Park, an additional 50-foot flagpole location. 1 of 4  Approved Meeting Minutes Fairfield Planning Commission Regular Meeting November 5, 2025 Chairman Taylor explained that the Fairfield Industrial Park had previously been approved on April 8, 2025, for a 50-foot flagpole with two new possible locations: one by the main gate/ entrance to development, and one by the entrance to the truss plant lot. The current request was to add two additional potential locations, increasing the total to four. A map was presented to show all proposed sites, with the two previously approved locations highlighted in orange and the two new locations highlighted in blue, identified near the main gate entrance and by the entrance to the truss plant lot. Chairman Taylor stressed the need to formally approve all four locations as shown on the map to prevent future confusion. Commissioner Riet then drafted a clear motion to approve the updated map locations within the Fairfield Light Industrial West zone, noting that placement must remain compliant with federal, state, and local laws. Commissioner Riet motioned that we pass agenda item 1, Fairfield Industrial Park, light industrial west zone, 50-foot flagpole addition locations, there are four locations on the map, and the commission would sign the map designating that we approved it. Commissioner Mascaro seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Taylor - Yes Commissioner Riet - Yes Commissioner Fisher - Yes Commissioner Mascaro - Yes Commissioner Butterfield - Yes 2)​ Report from the Mayor Mayor McKinney gave updates on several ongoing town projects. She reported that Comcast will begin boring on Monday and that the town has completed the required blue stake process. She also noted that the town’s new attorney, Brad Christopherson, has begun work on the airport ordinance, not yet fully reviewed by counsel; He’s working on it to get there, but there's a lot of issues that you have to get through to get there. The Mayor announced that the updated code book is nearly finished. A complete draft incorporating all ordinances passed over the last two years has been prepared and will soon be sent for codification. Once complete, this will place all town ordinances in one consolidated location, making it easier for residents and officials to track and understand what has been adopted. Currently, the older code book and more recent ordinances are stored separately on the town website, creating confusion. Regarding the park project, Mayor McKinney explained that some of the original dirt had to be removed because it contained arsenic and could not be reused. That dirt was taken to the landfill, and clean fill dirt was brought in. Capping work is now underway. Strong’s company is completing the project, and their bid came in at roughly half the cost of other proposals. 2 of 4  Approved Meeting Minutes Fairfield Planning Commission Regular Meeting November 5, 2025 Mayor McKinney also announced that Comcast expects the Fairfield area to be completed by December 2, 2025. Comcast said it will run fiber to every home in town, and Comcast may work on Sundays if needed to stay on schedule, depending on weather conditions. She concluded by noting that additional work is still needed on the commercial zone, land use ordinances, and road ordinances. 3)​ Commercial overlay/ zone ​ The Commissioners reviewed the Commercial Overlay Zone currently in place. They restated that the overlay runs along SR-73/Highway 73 on both sides through the town and extends approximately 300 feet back from the highway from the north end to the south end of Fairfield. They noted that the overlay area includes existing residential properties and touches areas that may be industrial or transitioning in use. They discussed concerns with the ordinance language, indicating that parcels labeled commercial can no longer be used for residential purposes, especially since many affected properties are long-standing 5–10 acre residential lots along the highway. Attorney Brad Christopherson explained that overlays are typically intended to add allowable uses rather than remove underlying residential rights unless the Town specifically chooses that outcome. He advised that residential use should remain permitted within the overlay unless the Commissioners intend otherwise. The Chairman and Commissioners emphasized the importance of protecting existing residential uses and avoiding unintended loss of residential rights. Commissioners and counsel addressed compatibility between commercial and residential uses. Brad Christopherson recommended a transition approach where commercial areas adjacent to homes are limited to lighter impacts, using concepts such as “neighborhood commercial” or other buffering standards to prevent high-intensity commercial uses from being placed directly next to existing residences. A significant portion of the discussion focused on conditional uses. Brad stated that in Utah, once a use is listed as conditional, it becomes difficult to deny if the applicant meets the ordinance standards; the Town may impose reasonable conditions, but cannot refuse simply because the use is undesirable. He cautioned that broad conditional-use lists increase legal exposure and recommended dramatically shortening the use lists and potentially eliminating most conditional uses in favor of clearer permitted/accessory/special-use standards. Commissioners agreed that prior practice relied too heavily on conditional uses and that a more structured chart-based approach would be preferable. The Commissioners also flagged several ordinance issues for further work. They noted missing standards for spacing between multiple buildings on the same lot, and questioned whether current setbacks alone would prevent buildings from being placed too close together. They reviewed height standards and expressed concern that the ordinance references two stories while allowing buildings up to 45 feet. Brad Christopherson stated that 45 feet is not two stories 3 of 4  Approved Meeting Minutes Fairfield Planning Commission Regular Meeting November 5, 2025 but closer to four stories, creating a loophole that could allow much taller buildings than residents expect. Commissioners agreed that the building needs to be addressed and discussed, reducing the height limit closer to 35 feet, with allowance for screened mechanical units above the roofline. Additional wording in the ordinance was highlighted, including access standards. The Chairman questioned language suggesting vehicle and pedestrian access should be “exclusively and entirely across the subject lot,” noting it could be interpreted as requiring full-frontage access or sidewalk development. Brad recommended simplifying the requirement to a frontage/access standard and reminded the Commissioners that UDOT controls SR-73 access approvals, so Town standards should align accordingly. The Commissioners also discussed whether nuisance standards (noise, odor, glare, etc.) should be more clearly defined in a separate nuisance section and referenced within the overlay. Regarding use lists and existing businesses, Brad explained that if certain uses are removed from the overlay, any existing operations under those uses would become legal nonconforming uses and could continue unless abandoned, meaning removing uses would not automatically shut existing businesses down. Commissioners agreed not to use the Light Industrial West list as the basis for commercial overlay uses and directed that the overlay be rebuilt from scratch with a short permitted list, requiring other uses to come before the Town for approval. Commissioners agreed to continue studying options before final decisions. This included considering multiple commercial zones of different intensities, aligning the overlay with the General Plan, reviewing the Tech Overlay Zone, and examining examples such as Eagle Mountain’s commercial zoning and maps. The Commissioners also discussed possibly engaging planning consultants or a planning firm to assist with the overlay framework and use list development. During this item, a member of the public (Jane, via Zoom) briefly shared historical context on commercial zoning in Fairfield. Chairman Taylor allowed the brief comment but reminded attendees that public comment is not permitted during business items and requested future comments be submitted by email due to the contentious nature of the topic. Adjournment Motion made by Commissioner Masacaro to end the meeting. Commissioner Butterfield seconded the motion. The meeting ended at 8:38 pm. ​ January 7, 2026​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Stephanie Shelley Minutes Approval Date Stephanie Shelley Recorder/Clerk 4 of 4