Town of Mantua Planning and Zoning Meeting Minutes
Held on June 11, 2026, at 6:30 PM
Town Hall 409 North Main Street, Mantua Utah 84324
Commission Members Present: Chairperson - Pam Eaves Robert Thayne Doug Green Cindy Gibbons Don Ruhl Jim Jones Ryan Thurgood
Audience Present: Brandon King, Scott Ross
Meeting opened by Pam Eaves and the invocation offered by Angela Connell
Pledge of Allegiance - led by Pam Eaves and followed by all in attendance.
Public Comment: None
Chairperson Pam Eaves approved the minutes for the meting held on May 14, 2026, as written.
Discussion items: Steve Jepson line adjustment. Last summer we found that a boundary line adjustment can be approved by our land use authority. Rob Thayne will be the final authority, so they really don't need to come in front of the planning and zoning commission for approvals. The information will be brought to the meetings just so the commission is aware of what's going on. The process is, they apply and get a survey of the land. This property is off Meadow Road. They're adding a quarter acre to Brad's property out of Steve's property. This doesn't affect any of the utilities. In addition, this change will not affect any of their zones, as it's all in R-120. Forsgren and Associates, our engineers, will review this. The applicants didn't do their legal description properly, but submitted everything else, and paid their fees. When have the correct information, it will be sent to the attorney for review.
CM&M Abbott Ranch has a small strip on the lot that is its own deeded parcel. The applicant is rearranging the boundary lines so that he can split off the house to have a half-acre lot. Because he's modifying this parcel, these now become nonconformant, illegal building lots. So, bottom line is he's not going to be able to build unless he comes in and does a subdivision application. This adjustment allows him to section off the house so he can sell it. This parcel still has a loan on it, so he would have to go to his lender and get approval from them to carve off the rest of that land. This project has taken a couple of months now. The applicant is doing everything we're asking and trying hard to make it work.
Civic Review processes our building permits and holds a refresher course on the program. At the class, we found there's a lot more Civic Review can do for us. We're going to explore that a little bit, because we can include conditional use applications or variance applications.
A resident at 314 East Maple Springs Dr. turned in a site plan to apply for a new home. The setbacks for the front and back are correct. He doesn't show where the electricity and the gas are coming in but does show the water portion. Electricity and sewer are located out by the road.
Pam played a video about conditional use titled '6 Land Use Law Updates'. These videos are from the Utah League of Cities and Towns. The videos have valuable information and provide continuing education to the commission member.
There's only one place in our land use code that talks about conditional use. The planning and zoning commission is an administrative body, and the town council is a legislative body. The state is moving to a place where administrative can make some of these decisions. Additionally, our land use code needs some revisions. Pam is waiting for the contract with Forsgren and Associates to be signed.
Action items: None
Zoning administrator: Robert Thayne sent an email to the commission members and to the town council about our fire plan. The first part is a letter from Tracy Swanson, who's the DNR authority. Over the last year, Robert's been working on this plan, the CWPP which is a community wildfire protection plan. This must be turned into the state, and it's good for five years. Currently, Rob just needs signatures. One of the things that we need is to is adopted 2026 Wildland urban interface code. The state has some code as far as wildland coaching, we need to adopt. After speaking to Karen Nelson, who's helped with this, we've found nothing has been done on this plan. This plan needs to be adopted by the town council. Additionally, we must adopt or sign an agreement with them to show we will pursue wildlife efforts. Then we must come up with a plan of mitigation. Will Hodgins and Rob Thayne will take care of this.
Examples of this would be, cut, gather, and remove vegetation from the bike trail, cross country ski trail, and remove dead wood by our cemetery. We will make a list like that for 2026 that includes volunteer time and hours of equipment use.
The reason this is important is because if Mantua has wildfire that spreads to public property, we're liable for that. Potentially costing the town millions of dollars. If we have this planning in place and we have proven that we've made a diligent effort to do what we can do, then they'll pay for it. We Must follow this plan.
Some residents worry about this, and we can let them know of the plan put in place. Trimming a large field and cutting down some trees could help make things a little more fire resistant. The Fire department's going to take this over with my support. Will is planning to assign somebody to gather information.
Rob pointed out some demographics on the town. The population is about 1490 people. In 2025, Box Elder County assessed the value of property in Mantua of $493 million. On a scale of 0 to 10, Mantua is rated a 5 in fire risk.
In 2025, Ken Jones, a town council member at the time, sent letters to some residents on weed abatement. This was for FEMA and the data collected can also apply to fire mitigation. Kens project included mitigation for things like earthquakes and floods.
A homeowner could log the information with the date and time it took to complete their project. They would also need to put the address on the form, as well as equipment used.
Rob presented UWRAP, Utah Wildfire Risk and Assessment Portal. We got to make a list for this year and submit it to the state of what we accomplished last year. Once this has been approved, it's good for 6 years. We'll also have to complete another one called the CWS plan, The Cooperative Wildfire System, that must be done annually. In years past, there have been 2 significant fires in Mantua
Commission Comments: An audience wondered about the tank on the other side of the hill? Marcus said the chlorine levels were too high and they were going to have to drain it and dilute the water. What's the status on a new pump in the well? He said the well was functioning good. The new well runs well, the old well needs help. We either need to redo the old well or get a new one in that same location.
Doug Green Made a motion to adjourn. Second by Jim Jones.
Doug Green: Yes Robert Thayne: Yes
Don Ruhl: Yes Ryan Thurgood:
Cindy Gibbons: Yes Jim Jones: Yes
Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons needing auxiliary communicative aids and services for this meeting should contact the Management Services Department at 629-8701 (TTY/TDD: 711 or 888-735-5906) or by email: sschaefer@mantuautah.gov at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation
Public meetings may be held electronically in accordance with Utah Code Annotated 52-4-207 to allow Council members to participate via teleconference. The anchor location for the meeting shall be held at the Mantua Town Hall 409 North Main St, Mantua Utah 84324.
Other Information
Certificate of Posting
The foregoing agenda was (1) posted on the Utah Public Notice Website created under Utah Code Section 63F1-701. (2) Town of Mantua website, and (3) posted in Town of Mantua City Office on 2026 by Deputy Town Recorder.