Agenda Item Title:
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Community Development Department recommending the City Council Amend Title 15A, Chapter 23, Commercial, Office, Industrial & Transit Corridor Development Standards, Land Development Code, Revised Ordinances of Sandy City, 2008 relative to Automall District Dealer Area Setbacks.
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Presenter:
Brian McCuistion
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Description/Background:
The Sandy City Community Development Department has filed a request to amend Title 15A, Chapter 23, Commercial, Office, Industrial & Transit Corridor Development Standards, Land Development Code, Revised Ordinances of Sandy City, 2008. The purpose of the Code Amendment is to consider amending the setbacks for parking structures within the Automall District (Dealer Area).
The City Council adopted Ordinance #90-37 on July 31, 1990 which created a new Automall Zone with associated development standards. With the original zone, the front setback for the dealership building was established to be 85 feet from the property line. During the re-write of the Sandy City Land Development Code in 2008, the front setback in the Automall District Dealer Area was changed from 85 to 94 feet.
The minimum 94 foot building setback in this code was intended for the dealership building, to allow sufficient surface parking between the street and the dealership building to display the inventory. Parking terraces/structures were not really contemplated in the building requirement of the zone.
The Sandy City Community Development Department has received an application for a new parking structure to be built on the Mark Miller Subaru Dealership property (10920 South State Street). This proposed parking structure would be used for inventory vehicle display. The proposed structure is closer than 94’ from the north property line along Motor Park Avenue. Representatives from Mark Miller Subaru have described the project to staff and we are in support of the proposed improvement. However, in order to approve this type of project, the building setbacks for the Automall Zoning District would need to be amended.
Over the last few years, a few dealerships have moved out of the South Towne Automall to adjacent cities on larger tracts of land in order to have more inventory on-site. City staff is supportive of allowing the existing dealerships to make improvements to their properties in order to expand their inventory and remain in the South Towne Automall area.
This proposed code amendment would allow the Planning Commission to reduce the setbacks for parking structures that could enable a larger on-site inventory, after consideration of the following factors:
(1) Height and configuration of the structure.
(2) Relationship and impact to other buildings on site and on adjoining properties.
(3) Location of any public utility easements.
(4) Visibility from vehicular approaches.
Recommended Action and/or Suggested Motion:
Recommendation
The Planning Commission reviewed this on May 3, 2018 and is forwarding a positive recommendation to the City Council to adopt the proposed ordinance amendment as shown in Exhibit “A”, attached, for the following reasons:
1. Compliance with the Purpose of the Land Development Code establishing a system of fair, comprehensive, consistent and equitable regulations, and standards under which all proposed upgrades will be reviewed and evaluated within the South Towne Automall.
2. Compliance with the Goals and Policies of the General Plan by establishing appropriate development standards for all uses and zoning categories within Sandy City.