Agenda Item Title:
Title
General Plan Amendment - Pace of Progress: Sandy General Plan 2050
Comprehensive update of the City's General Plan and including five station area plans and six neighborhood activity center plans
Body
Presenter:
Jake Warner, Long Range Planning Manager
Body
Description/Background:
Over two years ago, Sandy City started the process to prepare a comprehensive update to the City's General Plan. Utah Code requires that all municipalities have a general plan. The Utah Legislature revises Utah Code provisions regarding general plans on nearly an annual basis. While Sandy City has often updated portions of the City's General Plan, sections of the current document are outdated and additional revisions are necessary to comply with current Utah Code. Some sections of the City's current General Plan date back to 1979.
In 2022, the City hired a consultant group led by GSBS. Additionally, the City hired Y2 Analytics to conduct three surveys throughout the process. A significant amount of research, analysis, and public engagement has occurred since the start of the project. The City has held over 120 meetings, including open houses, workshops, meetings with the Planning Commission and City Council, various committee meetings, stakeholder meetings (groups and individuals), and meetings with regional partners. Based on input received, a project vision, community values, and key strategies were developed, that together formed a framework that was utilized in preparing a draft document.
A draft of the document (Pace of Progress: Sandy General Plan 2050) was made public on 8/29/2024 on the project website (https://sandypaceofprogress.org/). The draft document remains available on the project website. As a general plan the document addresses a wide range of topics and includes various tools to help establish expectations and guide decisions affecting the future growth and development of the City. In addition to being a comprehensive general plan, the document includes five station area plans (recently required per Utah Code) and six neighborhood activity center plans. The City's existing General Plan includes many documents, such as area plans and various master plans, that assist in the utilization of the General Plan. These documents were typically approved and associated with the existing General Plan as part of the appendix. The appendix of the proposed Pace of Progress: Sandy General Plan 2050 document also lists those existing documents that remain relevant and valuable to the City so that they will continue to be associated with and recognized by the proposed General Plan. The intent of the proposed draft document is to comply with Utah Code and completely replace the City existing General Plan.
Fiscal Impact:
Approving the proposed General Plan would have no direct fiscal impact. Future implementation of specific components of the plan would involve certain costs, however, the proposed plan is expected to have an overall positive fiscal impact on the City.
Further action to be taken:
The requested item is a general plan amendment, which is a legislative item. It is being presented to the Planning Commission to hold a public hearing and to forward a recommendation to the City Council. The City Council will make the final determination in a separate meeting.
Recommended Action and/or Suggested Motion:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission forward a positive recommendation to the City Council to adopt the Pace of Progress: Sandy General Plan 2050, with the revisions listed in the staff report as the Planning Commission considers appropriate.
Alternatives:
1. Forward a positive recommendation of the proposed amendment to the City Council
2. Forward a recommendation proposing modified amendments to the City Council
3. Forward a negative recommendation of the proposed amendment to the City Council
4. Table the decision