Planning Commission Recap for Aug. 12

Hey Provo! 👋The Planning Commission met on Wednesday 8/12.

Here’s what they recommended the City Council do with 5 items.

HOW I WROTE THIS: I attended the meeting in-person. I took lots of notes - I type very fast! I went back through my notes and summarized the key points from each debate - I try to be concise, but also add some helpful context. I reference the materials in the Agenda Packet to verify details and check the YouTube recording when I need to verify a quote. I request the slides from the Planning Department so I can include screenshots of those.

⭐ I do not use AI to summarize the meetings or write these posts.

If you want to know more about WHY I’m doing this, check out my new “About” Page.

❌ DENY: 33 Townhomes Just North of BYU Stadium

This deliberation took the bulk of the Commission’s meeting and drew several dozen members of the public who live near the proposed subdivision. Tyson “Rob” Reynolds originally (last year) got 4 acres at 2000 N Canyon Road rezoned for single family homes. Now he wants that land zoned “Low Density Residential” because he told the Planning Commission he realized he’d have to sell those 19 single family homes for about $1.5 million and he didn’t think anyone would want to buy a house that expensive when it’s surrounded by apartment buildings and condos so close to campus. So he’s back with a plan for 33 twin homes and townhomes that would be smaller and less expensive (though still in the $750k range) that he thinks will be more marketable and a better fit for the neighborhood. Some residents in the single-family neighborhood to the East of the property and condo-owners to the North strongly disagree.

Planning Commission voted 4-2 (Metzger and Temple voting “No”) to recommend the City Council DENY the rezone request.

🗣️KEY QUOTES:

“I’m all for people having property rights but what about the rights of people who own property who’ve already been there for a long time?” said neighborhood resident Pam Jones.

“I would prefer to see the developer build the single family homes (he originally planned) with ADUs (which are allowed in this zone) so they families would be better able to afford the homes,” said Commissioner Melissa Kendall.

“Looking at the surrounding development, the townhome plan strikes me as more compatible than single family homes,” said Commissioner Joel Temple.

✅ APPROVE: New Rules for Building Along the Provo River

The City Council put a pause on approving new development along the Provo River a several months ago in order to come up with some standards for what can be built within 100 feet of the river. They want to make sure that, where possible, the river remains a public asset. These new rules outright prohibit some types of developments along the river: warehouses, manufacturing, auto repair shops, gas stations, car washes, dry cleaners, drive-throughs and data centers. Other provisions limit the height of new buildings along the river at various distances and prohibit parking lots from facing the river or dumpsters from being visible from the river. There’s also a bunch of stuff in the ordinance about maintaining public access to the river and improving amenities along the river like adding benches. The changes will only apply to NEW development (not existing buildings or homes).

Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend the City Council APPROVE the new design standards.

✅ APPROVE: Mixed Townhome/Storefront Development on Geneva Rd

There’s an old cabinet shop and a home behind it further into the block at 113 and 191 N Geneva Road. This is just north of Center Street and the City has zoned that corner to encourage commercial development (like a grocery store, which the West side is desperate for). Last year the owners of these two parcels applied to build 26 townhomes with some of those units having live/work spaces on the ground floor. The Planning Commission recommended denial because the city’s strong priority for this area is to see more commercial development. So now the owners (and their developer Jared Morgan) are back with a “mixed-use” plan that puts 8 townhomes inside the block and 4 commercial suites in the front facing Geneva Road. Those suites would be a good fit for small retail stores or hair salons or other neighborhood services.

Several planning commissioners had concerns about whether the storefronts would really be used as public-facing retail rather than storage space or private offices. They also worried that the townhomes would be cut off from the neighborhood to the north by a retaining wall and not very well integrated with whatever businesses come next to the south toward Center Street. But ultimately, they agreed the plan aligns with the City’s zoning vision for that area.

Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend the City Council APPROVE the rezone request.

🗣️KEY QUOTE:

“We’re kind of the first pancake off the griddle from a retail standpoint (in this area where the City is hoping to attract more retail) so fingers crossed that we’ll be absorbed well,” developer Jared Morgan.

✅ APPROVE: Total Rewrite of Provo City Zoning Code

Nothing changes policy-wise in the new code - but it does include a few things the City Council has requested, like the new detached ADU rules I mentioned in this post. Otherwise, this update is mostly to consolidate, simplify and streamline Provo’s zoning ordinance. It’s 35% shorter (but still hundreds of pages, so don’t go thinking you can skim it in a few minutes).

Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend the City Council APPROVE the revised ordinance.

🗣️KEY QUOTE:

“A lot of the zoning code of Provo City has existed for decades. It’s been fixed and repaired with amendments and band-aids and a lot of it is redundant or no longer used. We’ve been needing this for a while, so it’s been great to go through it closely so we could get it to something that can be easily used by the public, city staff and developers,” said Provo City Planner Aaron Ardmore.

✅ APPROVE: Flex-Warehouses in Vacant Lot on 820 N.

These new buildings will be flexible office/warehouse space for up to 7 different tenants (but the developer expects most will be leased by just one company). The site is 1.5 acres and it’s already zoned for this use, so the Planning Commission was reviewing the actual site plan for the project at 1722 W. 820 N. (The City Council doesn’t vote on plans for projects that fit existing zoning.) Commissioners were enthusiastic about the prospect of something finally going in this spot and not needing to carve into the base of Grandview Hill. (NOTE: I accidentally left the 1 off the address when I originally posted this. It’s corrected now!)

Planning Commission voted 6-0 to APPROVE the Project Plan, so the developer can begin getting building permits.

🗣️KEY QUOTE:

“I’m from here and used to go by that site a lot growing up and I always thought it would never be developed in my lifetime,” said Planning Commissioner Tosh Metzger.