SALT LAKE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
City & County Building
451 South State Street, Room 326, Salt Lake City, Utah
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
A roll is being kept of all who attended the Planning Commission Meeting. The meeting was called to order at 5:33:09 PM. Audio recordings of the Planning Commission meetings are retained for a period of time.
Present for the Planning Commission meeting were: Chairperson Adrienne Bell; Vice Chairperson Brenda Scheer; Commissioners Maurine Bachman, Amy Barry, Weston Clark, Carolynn Hoskins, Jon Lee, Darin Mano, and Andres Paredes. Commissioners Matt Lyon, and Sara Urquhart were excused.
Planning Staff members present at the meeting were John Anderson, Planning Manager; Paul Nielson, Attorney; Lauren Parisi, Principal Planner; Eric Daems, Principal Planner; and Marlene Rankins, Administrative Secretary.
Field Trip
The field trip was cancelled.
APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2019, MEETING MINUTES. 5:33:16 PM
MOTION 5:33:22 PM
Commissioner Bachman moved to approve the September 11, 2019 minutes. Commissioner Clark seconded the motion. Commissioners Clark, Lee, Barry, and Hoskins voted “Aye”. Commissioners Mano, Bachman and Paredes abstained from voting. The motion passed.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR 5:34:07 PM
Chairperson Bell stated she had nothing to report.
Vice Chairperson Scheer stated she had nothing to report.
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 5:34:12 PM
John Anderson, Planning Manager, welcomed Commissioner Darin Mano to the Planning Commission.
Hopkins Estate Planned Development - On August 8th, 2018, the Planning Commission approved the Hopkins Estate Planned Development, a proposal to develop five (5) new lots and a private driveway at 1950 & 1960 South 1700 East. The applicant plans to sell each lot individually for the construction of single-family homes. The design of the structures will ultimately be decided by future buyers, but the Commission approved a site plan with building envelopes and a landscaping plan. Modifications approved through the Planned Development process include the creation of four (4) lots without street frontage, and reduced front and rear yard setbacks for the home to be constructed on lot 1. A condition of approval was included that requires the applicant to return to the Commission for final review of the home proposed for lot 1, which has frontage on 1700 East, before a building permit can be issued. The applicant has provided Staff with a proposal for this structure and is now seeking the Planning Commission’s final approval. The property is zoned R-1/7,000 Single-Family Residential and is located within Council District 7, represented by Amy Fowler. (Staff contact: Lauren Parisi (801) 535-7226 or lauren.parisi@slcgov.com). Case number: PLNSUB2018-00033
Lauren Parisi, Principal Planner, reviewed the petition as outlined in the Staff Report (located in the case file). She stated Staff recommended that the Planning Commission approve the request.
The applicant elected not to provide further presentation.
PUBLIC HEARING 5:40:12 PM
Chairperson Bell opened the Public Hearing; seeing no one wished to speak; Chairperson Bell closed the Public Hearing.
MOTION 5:40:53 PM
Commissioner Barry stated, based on the information contained in the memo dated September 25, 2019, the staff report dated August 8, 2018, the information presented, and the input received during the public hearing, I move that the Planning Commission approve the proposed design of the single-family home to be built on lot 1 of the Hopkins Estate Subdivision. This approval is associated with the larger Planned Development PLNSUB2018-00033, which was approved by the Planning Commission on August 8, 2018. All conditions associated with that approval still apply.
Commissioner Clark seconded the motion. Commissioners Paredes, Bachman, Hoskins, Barry, Lee, Scheer, Mano, and Clark voted “Aye”. The motion passed unanimously.
Text Amendments to the RMF-30 Low Density Multi-Family Residential District - The purpose of this project is to review the existing zoning requirements in the City’s RMF-30 Low Density Multi-Family Residential Zoning District and make amendments to corresponding sections of Salt Lake City’s Zoning Ordinance. The intent of the proposed amendments is to implement multiple master plan policies found in Plan Salt Lake, various community master plans, the recently adopted Growing SLC; A Five-Year Housing Plan (2018-2022) and remove zoning barriers to housing development. The RMF-30 zoning district is located throughout the city. Proposed amendments include:
•Introducing design standards for all new development;
•Allowing the construction of new building types including sideways row houses, cottage developments, and tiny houses;
•Reducing minimum lot area requirements per unit;
•Removing lot width minimum requirements and adding a lot width maximum;
•Allowing more than one primary structure on a lot;
•Granting a density bonus for the retention of an existing structure.
The proposed regulation changes will affect sections 21A.24.120 of the zoning ordinance. Related provisions of Title 21A-Zoning may also be amended as part of this petition. (Staff Contact: Lauren Parisi at (801) 535-7226 or lauren.parisi@slcgov.com) Case number PLNPCM2019-00313
Lauren Parisi, Principal Planner, reviewed the petition as outlined in the Staff Report (located in the case file). She stated Staff recommended that the Planning Commission forward a favorable recommendation to the City Council.
The Commission and Staff discussed the following:
•The Decision to remove delineation design standards for sideways row houses as the Planning Commission had mentioned at the June public hearing that these standards might be too prescriptive in terms of design
•Concern that removing the delineation design standards as well as the Planning Commission’s review of sideways row houses as a planned development could lead to poor design
•Clarification that sideways row house building types where some of the lots do not have direct public street frontage would no longer need planned development review per the proposed changes
•Proposed lot requirements for cottage developments and tiny houses
•Hypothetically if a home can be demolished or preserved and a collection of tiny homes can be added
•Clarification regarding the height standards for cottage building types
•Clarification on whether the Commission should be considering access to public utilities, police, and fire
•Whether tiny houses are allowed in other areas of the City
•Concern that the tiny house building type may be out of scale with other types in the district
PUBLIC HEARING 6:16:28 PM
Chairperson Bell opened the Public Hearing;
Judy Short, Land Use Chair Sugar House Community Council- Stated, for most of the specific places that Lauren named, there generally wasn’t a lot of objection. There’s places along 7th East and 9th East that have big deep lots that seem to be underutilized, the houses don’t look in terrific condition and perhaps some renovation in that area seems appropriate except for Allen Park.
Mark Bunce – Provided history information of the surrounding neighborhood and stated his opposition of the proposal.
Cindy Cromer – Stated that planners do not have access to information, which drives decision about the redevelopment of income properties including cost basis per unit, taxable gain, depreciation, and the number of units allowed on a lot. Reviewed market value of purchased land and County assessments of properties in the RMF-30 district
Nathan Florence – Spoke about experience where his neighborhood was rezoned from RMF-30 to R-2, which promoted the renovation of existing homes. Suggested that this rezone in the Bennion Neighborhood could be used as a case study.
Lynn Pershing – Provided a history of historic neighborhoods in the city and stated her opposition in the proposal. Suggested promoting the rehabilitation of existing homes.
Monica Hilding – Stated there is a sideways row house development proposed to be constructed next to her property and that she is opposed of the proposal. Is concerned that planners don’t understand the investment that residents have made in their properties and that the proposal would encourage deterioration of existing structures instead of rehabilitation.
Paul Svendsen – Explained that demolishing an existing structure in a local historic district is difficult to achieve. Stated that he is in support of the proposal as it promotes the development of missing middle housing. He also clarified that the removal of delineation design standards for sideways row houses would not mean that the front unit wouldn’t face the street.
Janet Warburton – Stated she’s opposed of the proposal and read a letter from Historic Preservation Utah representatives.
Tim Funk – Raised concern regarding housing affordability. Suggested that the proposal should not be applied city wide and instead look at zoning regulations in smaller areas.
Jarod Hall – Stated his support of the proposal. The city is growing and should increase density. The unit bonus is a good incentive to encourage preservation of existing houses.
Brandon Dayton – Stated his support of the amendment and feel amendments like this are crucial. He also stated that the proposal would allow regular people to invest and make changes in their own community.
Seeing no one else wished to speak; Chairperson Bell closed the Public Hearing.
The Commission and Staff further discussed the following:
•Clarification as to how this amendment will affect Allen Park
•Whether there is a particular reason that makes more sense to adjust an entire zone rather than rezoning an area
•The importance of having zoning districts that work for their intended use and that multi-family zones should allow multi-family housing. Also, important to preserve character of neighborhoods, but densify at the same time
•Clarification on delineation design standards for sideways row houses
•The difference between cottage developments and tiny house developments
•Concern that tiny house building types are not consistent with existing street typology in the city and that the proposed tiny house building type should be removed
MOTION 7:04:38 PM
Commissioner Barry stated, based on the findings and analysis in the staff report dated June 26th, 2019, the memo dated September 25th, 2019, and testimony provided, I move that the Planning Commission forward a positive recommendation for PLNPCM2019-00313 to the City Council to adopt the proposed zoning ordinance text amendments related to updates to the RMF-30 Low Density Multi-Family Residential zoning district with the following provisions:
1. That the reference of tiny homes be removed until there is further clarification/ definition of what that looks like and functions
2. That sideways developments do come before the Planning Commission for final approval.
Further discussion was made to clarify the motion.
RESTATED MOTION 7:14:36 PM
with the following conditions:
1. Provisions for tiny homes is removed from the text amendment until further study and to clarify what that means; what it would look like, and how it would function
2. That Staff does further review of design standards for the sideways row house developments to identify how the front relates to the street and pedestrian and how the sides relate to the street view as a particular lot warrants.
Commissioner Scheer seconded the motion. Commissioners Clark, Mano, Scheer, Lee, Barry, Hoskins, Bachman, and Paredes voted “Aye”. The motion passed unanimously.
WORK SESSION
HAND Consolidated Master Plan briefing - 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan. The Planning Commission will receive a briefing from the staff of the Housing and Neighborhood Development Division on the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan. The Consolidated Plan is a federally mandated policy document that establishes the framework for how Salt Lake City uses federal funding for vital services and programs that support the City’s housing, infrastructure, and economic development needs. The federal programs that provide funding to the City are administered by the US Department of Housing & Urban Development include Community Development Block Grant, Emergency Solutions Grant, HOME Investment Partnership Program, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS. Over the plan period, it is anticipated that approximately $25-30M of funding will be available to meet the critical needs identified in this plan. The 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan impacts how master plans are implemented and may impact land use decisions. The Planning Commission is required by Utah Code to make a recommendation on a master plan prior to the plan being adopted by the City Council. The plan allocates funding citywide. (Staff contact: Jennifer Schuman at (801) 535-7276 or Jennifer.schuman@slcgov.com)
Jennifer Schuman, Housing and Neighborhood Development Deputy Director; Susan Becker, Zions Public Financing; Muriel Xochimitl, Strategic Communications, briefed the Planning Commission regarding the Consolidated Master Plan and provided a brief presentation.
The Commission and Staff discussed the following:
•Whether there has been a community assessment done
•How HAND did on the last five-year plan and whether they met their goals
•Clarification on where housing mitigation fund goes
•How notices will be provided to the public
Off-Street Parking Chapter Ordinance Revision - The Planning Commission received a briefing from staff on the update to the parking chapter of the zoning ordinance. The parking chapter determines how much parking is required for each land use, where the parking can be located, bicycle parking requirements, and other similar requirements. This was the second of at least two briefings and focused on a few outstanding questions of the ordinance, regarding parking requirements for cottage style developments, multi-family projects, and how a reduction of parking near bus transit stops might be administered. (Staff contact: Eric Daems at 801-535-7236 or eric.daems@slcgov.com) Case number PLNPCM2017-00753
Eric Daems, Principal Planner; and Casey Stewart, Senior Planner, provided the Planning Commission with information regarding the proposed off-street parking chapter ordinance revision.
The Commission and Staff discussed the following:
•Minimum parking for single family cottage style developments
•Minimum parking for multi-family developments
•If and how to implement a reduction of parking stalls requirements when projects are near bus stops that are serviced frequently (15 min daytime intervals)
•Public transportation
The meeting adjourned at 8:25:10 PM