Draper approves New Hope Drive rezoning the council denied in 2016

DRAPER — The Draper City Council voted 5-0 on Oct. 6 to adopt Ordinance #1739, amending the city's official zoning map for approximately 1.35 acres at about 960 E. New Hope Dr. from RA1 to RA2, both residential agricultural zones 12.

The change is one of lot size. RA1 sets a 40,000-square-foot minimum lot; RA2 sets 20,000 square feet 3. On the 1.35-acre parcel, which the staff report puts at approximately 58,806 square feet, the RA2 designation would allow the creation of one additional lot, according to the planning staff's analysis 7.

The request is a second attempt at the same change. The Planning Commission's minutes for Sept. 10 record that the commission approved a similar request in 2016 and the City Council denied it 4. Staff told the commission that the earlier application was identical but did not mention aging in place, and that the council's denial indicated the request could change the City's character and negatively impact the area 4; the staff report records the 2016 denial in the same terms 7.

The staff report names the applicant as Lowell and Tamara Snow, on application 2026-0186-MA 7, and states that the applicant is making the request so that they can subdivide the property to help the property owners age in place 7. The property is not part of an existing subdivision and has a single-family home built in 1975 and added onto in 2005, with a shed and a pool built in approximately 2013 7.

Lowell Snow addressed the commission at the Sept. 10 hearing. The minutes record that he said the house had been condemned and owned by a bank for three years when they bought it, that they had renovated it and added a pool and a casita, and that the home had become too much for them 4. He told the commission the request was for rezoning only, where the earlier application sought both a zoning map amendment and a subdivision plat, and that they did not want to build three houses 4. He said subdividing at the edge of the garden could create a 20,000-square-foot lot while leaving the existing home about nine-tenths of an acre, which he said is the size of the adjoining lot to the east 4. He said he and his wife spoke with every neighbor and that none opposed the request; ten years earlier, he said, almost every neighbor opposed the prior request over concern about a cascade effect 4.

Commissioner Nixon observed that the lot is about 58,000 square feet and should allow only one additional lot in RA2, and asked whether the applicant could seek a variance for three lots; staff answered that it would not be possible under current code 4. Chair Adams opened the public hearing; there were no comments, and it was closed 4. Commissioner Shirey said she had no concerns about the application and noted that there was no public opposition to it 4. The commission voted 5-0 to forward a positive recommendation to the council 4.

The staff report recommended that outcome on three grounds: that RA2 is compatible with the parcel's existing Residential Low-Medium Density land use designation; that properties abutting to the north and south are zoned RA2, as are other properties within 300 feet; and that the request would give the applicant an opportunity to age in place, which the report says is consistent with goal HN-4 of the Draper City General Plan 7. Staff also noted that the stated purpose of the RA1 and RA2 zones is identical, quoting the municipal code, and that the zones differ in use: Agricultural Business and Animal Specialties are conditional uses in RA1 and are not permitted in RA2, and keeping animals and fowl for recreation and family food production is a permitted use in RA1 that becomes a conditional use in RA2 7.

Department reviews in the packet raised no additional comment from the planning, building, fire, legal and GIS divisions 7. The engineering and public works review states that the site could be up to a three-lot subdivision, that the proposed zone would generate about three peak-hour trips and roughly 24 daily trips, below the threshold at which the city typically requires a traffic impact study, and that parcel access must remain on New Hope Drive because a new access onto Fort Street would not be permitted, Fort Street being a classified minor collector 7. The same review states that any subdivision or site plan application would require commitments to serve from the Jordan Basin Improvement District for sanitary sewer and from WaterPro for drinking water 7.

The staff report sets out the test the commission was weighing: a zoning map amendment is a matter committed to the legislative discretion of the City Council and is not controlled by any one standard, though the municipal code lists factors for the commission to consider, among them consistency with the general plan, harmony with the overall character of development nearby, the effect on adjacent property, and the adequacy of the facilities and services intended to serve the property 7. Draper noticed the council hearing on Sept. 24 for 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 in the City Council Chambers at Draper City Hall, 1020 E. Pioneer Road, with the notice attested by City Recorder Nicole Smedley 3. The item was 8.a on the council agenda, with the staff report by city planner Nick Whittaker 5, and the Planning Commission had scheduled the request as a public hearing on Sept. 10 6. The Ledger reported on Sept. 28 that the city had set the Oct. 6 hearing 9.

The city's recap of the Oct. 6 meeting records the 5-0 approval and states that the document is not the meeting minutes, which are published once the council adopts them 1. Draper published notice of the adoption on Oct. 7, stating that the complete ordinance is on file at the City Recorder's Office 28.