County Votes To Amend Ordinance, Minimum Building Lot Size Now 1/3 Acre On Sewer System, Cannon Breaks Tie

Darren Doyle, story:
County Judge Executive Wil Cannon was the tie-breaking vote at today's fiscal court meeting that amended the county ordinance  which originally required the minimum building lot size to be 3/4 acre.

At the last meeting, a local developer asked the court to reconsider the ordinance for homes put on the county sewer system. The original ordinance, which has been in place for about 20 years, required all building lots to be 3/4 of an acre in order to accommodate septic tanks, lateral lines, and the required drainage systems for each home.

The developer told the court at the previous meeting that homes placed on the county sewer system do not require the same type of drainage system and set up and would allow more building in the county for those homes on sewer. The county agreed to make the amendment for new lots on sewer from 3/4 to 1/2 acre; however, during today's meeting, magistrates discussed the possibilities of reducing the minimum lot size even further.

Magistrate Mark Woosley said that while some builders in the county would prefer even a 1/4 acre minimum lot size, to which he was opposed, a 1/3 acre minimum would be a good combination for all involved, or a lot with a minimum of 14, 520 square feet.

"You'll have more builders placing more homes on more lots," he said. "This will be a good opportunity for the county without things being too crowded."

Mag. Woosley made the motion to reduce the required minimum for lots on sewer from 3/4 acre to 1/3, which was seconded by Magistrate Joe Durbin.

​Mag. Durbin's opinion was that some landowners don't maintain the full 3/4 of an acre now and that reducing the required lot size for sewer-placed homes could cut down on larger, unkempt lots.

Other magistrates like Edd Rich and Buck Simmons spoke against the motion.

"(If) you keep cutting down lot sizes, you'll have to go through the front door just to get to the back yard," said Mag. Simmons.

Woosley's motion also contained language that would exclude mobile homes, manufactured homes, and house trailers from the ordinance. Those structures would still be required to be placed on 3/4 of an acre, regardless of sewer or septic tank.

The motion came to a vote where Woosley, Durbin, and Magistrate Johnny Brooks voted for, while Rich, Simmons, and Magistrate Clark Wood voted against, which resulted in a 3-3 tie.

Judge Cannon was then allowed to place a tie-breaking vote, for which he voted in favor, and the motion passed.

The amendment to the ordinance will be in effect (assuming the ordinance is passed) for new lots only and will not affect existing lots or homes. New lots that are not on sewer will also not apply. Those lots will still be required to have a minimum size of 3/4 of an acre.