The March 4 Ephraim City Council meeting ran just under an hour and covered more ground than most. Five council members met at City Hall (Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Nordfelt was absent) and worked through a stack of study items that will shape how Ephraim handles development, rentals, and wildfire risk going forward — then closed out by approving four action items without a dissenting vote.
What Happened
Who Was There
Mayor Chris Larsen presided. Council members Troy Birch, Anthony Beal, Jack Dalene, and Loren Steck were present. Dennis Nordfelt was absent.
Wildland Urban Interface: A State Expert Comes to Explain It
The first major agenda item was a study presentation on Ephraim City Ordinance 26-02, the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) code. Thomas Peterson, a representative from the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL), walked the council through what adopting the code would mean for the city and why the state is pushing municipalities to do it.
The short version: Utah’s Cooperative Wildfire System (CWS) is a program that covers a municipality’s share of wildfire suppression costs when a fire crosses jurisdictions onto state, BLM, or federal land. A million-dollar fire can involve only a few hundred acres. The cost-sharing arrangement protects cities from bills they couldn’t realistically pay on their own. To participate in CWS, cities must adopt the WUI code and identify their wildland urban interface on a map.
For Ephraim, Peterson and city staff identified the relevant zone using the state’s Structure Exposure Score (SES) map, which rates wildfire risk on a scale of one to ten. Properties scoring seven and above fall into the high-risk WUI boundary. That boundary is what triggers both the construction code requirements for new homes and a separate annual fee that has nothing to do with the ordinance being considered.
Peterson was careful to separate two things the council kept needing to untangle: the WUI building code (what the city is being asked to adopt tonight, which governs new construction in the interface zone) and HB 48 (a 2025 state law that established the high-risk WUI fee assessed by the county on existing properties in the dark-red zones). They are related, but they are not the same thing.
For new construction in the WUI zone, the main requirements are fire-resistant materials and defensible space: no flammable vegetation within five feet of a structure, maintained landscaping out to 30 feet. Most materials used in construction today already meet those standards. Existing homes are grandfathered in.
The council also asked about HB 41, a 2026 legislative bill currently moving through the Utah Legislature. If it passes, the required code would update from the 2006 WUI code to the 2024 edition. The primary change in the newer code involves residential sprinkler requirements for major subdivisions. Peterson suggested the council consider waiting until after the session concludes on March 6 to see whether HB 41 passes before formally adopting the ordinance.
No vote was taken. This item remains on the study agenda.
Fire Inspection Ordinance Update
Fire Chief Hermanson presented proposed changes to the city’s fire inspection ordinance. The current code requires long-term rental properties to be inspected every five years. The proposed update removes single-family homes and duplexes from the formal inspection cycle entirely; those property owners would self-certify compliance when filing for their annual business license instead. Triplexes and all multifamily dwellings would move to annual inspections, with every other inspection counting as a standard business inspection.
Short-term rentals (under 30 days) would be inspected when first licensed and annually after that.
The change would reduce the chief’s annual inspection load by about 16 inspections. He noted that 195 fire inspections were completed in 2025. This is a study item; no vote was taken.
Road Width: 24 Feet to 26 Feet
City Planner Megan Spurling presented a proposed code change to road width requirements. Currently, the city code requires 24 feet of asphalt on new roads. Fire code, however, specifies 26 feet as the minimum for fire apparatus access. The proposal simply aligns the two codes so there is no discrepancy. No vote was taken.
Sidewalks on Private Roads
The second Spurling item addressed an ambiguity in the city’s sidewalk requirements. Code already requires five-foot sidewalks along public streets. When it comes to private roads serving multifamily or multi-unit developments, that requirement was less explicitly stated, and a recent applicant challenged it.
The proposed language would make it clear: any private road serving multiple dwelling units must include a continuous five-foot sidewalk. Spurling cited a recent townhome development where the developer initially argued residents could simply walk in the road. The council was receptive. No vote was taken.
Amenities Requirement for Larger Developments
The most discussed study item of the night was a proposed amenity requirement for multifamily developments of ten or more units. Currently, all residential development in Ephraim must dedicate at least 20 percent of their lot to landscaping. The proposal would require developments of ten units or more to also set aside an additional ten percent for resident amenities: playgrounds, pickleball courts, walking paths, fire pits, dog parks, a pavilion. Something for people to actually use.
The impetus was a 34-unit flex home development proposed for 200 West, across from a redeveloped trailer park. Neighbors raised concerns about children already playing in the road, and the increased density the new project would bring. The developers cooperated voluntarily on that project, adding green space and a small park. But the council wanted a standard in place so the city is not dependent on developer goodwill.
Spurling emphasized that the city is not dictating specific amenities, just a minimum percentage and a menu of qualifying options. Smaller developments (under ten units) would have no additional requirement beyond the existing 20 percent landscaping. The council asked whether amenities like a connected walking path through the development would count; Spurling confirmed it would. No vote was taken.
Short-Term Rental Ordinance
The final study item was a proposed short-term rental ordinance. Ephraim does not currently have one. The proposed framework would:
- Require a business license and collection of transient room tax for all short-term rentals (under 30 days)
- Require local property management contact on the business license
- Limit STR licenses to the legal owner of the property (no subletting arrangements)
- Cap short-term rentals at one unit per development of ten units or fewer
- Cap short-term rentals at ten percent of units in any development over ten units
- Require existing unlicensed STRs to obtain a license or stop operating
- Note that licenses do not transfer on sale; new owners must reapply
Spurling said the goal is not to eliminate Airbnbs but to keep Ephraim from accumulating the STR saturation problems seen in places like St. George and Kanab. The city wants housing to function as housing. Existing STRs would be grandfathered as long as the same owner holds the license; a sale ends that privilege.
No vote was taken.
Return to Work Policy (ECR 26-04) — Approved
City staff presented Resolution ECR 26-04, a return-to-work policy for workers’ compensation cases. The Utah Local Governments Trust had recommended Ephraim adopt a formal policy. The council approved it unanimously.
HVAC Replacement Bid — Approved
The city received six bids for replacing the five HVAC units on the roof of City Hall. The lowest bid came from Strawburg HVAC, which already services the HVAC equipment inside the building. City staff confirmed that all six bidders were bidding on the same specified units (recommended by a contractor who assessed the roof), so comparisons were apples to apples. The council approved awarding the contract to Strawburg unanimously.
Camino Verde Group Rezone — Approved
The council approved a rezone request from Camino Verde Group, converting a parcel from agricultural to industrial use. The property is located near Ephraim’s airport protection zone, south of where the Soap Creek industrial building is under construction. Camino Verde made a commitment to include industrial acreage when the city sold them land; this rezone fulfills that agreement. Planning commission unanimously recommended approval. The council approved unanimously.
C2 Zone Setback Clarification (Ordinance 26-03) — Approved
The council approved a code clarification specifying that residential developments built in Ephraim’s C2 (mixed-use commercial) zone must follow R4 residential setback standards: 20-foot front and rear setbacks, eight-foot side setbacks. This standard has always been applied, but it was only stated in one section of the code, not in the setback table itself. A recent applicant challenged it based on the omission. The council approved adding it to the setback table, making it explicit in both places.
Why It Matters
The study items on this agenda represent a package of development policies that will shape what Ephraim looks like over the next decade. The city is growing. New townhomes, flex homes, and apartment complexes are coming. The question being worked through in meetings like this one is whether that growth produces neighborhoods people actually want to live in, or just density on a map.
The amenities requirement and the short-term rental ordinance are both responses to what happened when density arrived without enough rules in place. The WUI code is a response to what happens when growth pushes up against the hillsides and the state’s suppression costs follow. The sidewalk and road width updates are the kind of thing that does not make headlines but quietly determines whether a neighborhood is walkable and whether a fire truck can get through.
None of the study items are final yet. They will go through additional review and come back for formal adoption.
What Comes Next
The Utah Legislature’s 2026 general session was scheduled to conclude around March 6. Whether HB 41 passes will determine which version of the WUI code Ephraim adopts. Staff indicated the ordinance vote would likely follow once that picture clears.
The short-term rental ordinance, amenities requirement, sidewalk language, and fire inspection updates will continue through the planning and council process. No adoption dates were set at this meeting.
The next Ephraim City Council meeting is Wednesday, March 18, at 6:00 PM, at City Hall, 5 South Main, Ephraim. It is open to the public and livestreamed on YouTube at @EphraimCityUtah.
Sourcing: This recap is based on the YouTube livestream of the March 4, 2026 Ephraim City Council meeting, verified against official Ephraim City council member information, Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands documentation on HB 48 and the Cooperative Wildfire System, and Utah Legislature records on HB 41 (2026). Council member names were verified against the official Ephraim City website. For corrections, email info@sanpeteserves.com.
