diff --git a/src/lib/submissionChangeDetection.ts b/src/lib/submissionChangeDetection.ts
index efeeff0d..3efdbcb7 100644
--- a/src/lib/submissionChangeDetection.ts
+++ b/src/lib/submissionChangeDetection.ts
@@ -527,7 +527,11 @@ function normalizeForComparison(value: any): any {
   // Normalize enum-like strings to lowercase for comparison
   // Matches patterns like: "operating", "Operating", "amusement_park", "Amusement_Park", "Amusement Park"
   if (typeof value === 'string' && /^[a-zA-Z_\s]+$/.test(value)) {
-    return value.toLowerCase().trim();
+    return value
+      .toLowerCase()
+      .replace(/_/g, ' ')      // Replace underscores with spaces
+      .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')    // Collapse multiple spaces
+      .trim();
   }
   
   // Recursively normalize arrays