Scott County Commissioners consider reducing minimum lot size for rural residential properties

At a recent Scott County Commissioners meeting, officials heard a proposed change to rural residential zoning requirements.

Currently, the county requires a minimum lot size of two acres with 200 feet of road frontage for rural residential properties. Officials noted that this rule was established decades ago, largely due to soil and septic concerns at the time.

However, septic technology has significantly improved, and such large parcels may no longer be necessary for adequate wastewater management. The proposed change would reduce the minimum lot size to one acre and the minimum road frontage to 100 feet.

Commissioners acknowledged that reducing the lot size could allow more homes to be built in certain areas but stressed that all other requirements, such as proper septic installation, would remain in place.

By cutting the acreage requirement in half, county leaders believe more land could be available for housing without unnecessarily consuming farmland. “We’re not going to be burning up land just to be burning up land,” President Randy Julian added. The discussion also touched on setback regulations, which will need to be reviewed in conjunction with any changes to lot size and frontage requirements.

No final vote was taken during the meeting, but the matter is expected to return on the agenda in an upcoming meeting.