CC - Staff Report 11-9
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HEARING
DATE:
11/9/2021
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROAM: Joseph Dodson, Associate Planner
208-884-5533
SUBJECT: H-2021-0072
Settlers Square MDA
LOCATION: The site is located on the northwest
corner of W. Ustick Road and N.
Venable Avenue, adjacent to the mid-
mile mark between Linder Road and
Meridian Road, in the SE ¼ of the SW ¼
of Section 36, Township 4N., Range 1W.
I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Modification to the existing Development Agreement (Inst. #2016-097989) for the purpose of
replacing the previous agreement with a new one to incorporate a new concept plan consisting of
commercial and residential uses.
II. SUMMARY OF REPORT
A. Applicant:
Joshua Beach, Brighton Development, Inc. – 2929 W. Navigator Drive, Suite 400, Meridian, ID
83642
B. Owner:
Brighton Development, Inc. – 11650 S. State Street, Draper, UT 84020
C. Representative:
Same as Applicant
III. STAFF ANALYSIS
The existing Development Agreement (DA) for the subject property requires the entire site to be
developed with commercial and office uses and incorporates two private roads through the
development; one north-south road and one east-west. In 2016, Council approved a DA Modification
for this site to change the internal roads from public roads to private streets. There are existing DA
provisions regarding the desired placement of buildings along Ustick and the desired integration of
pedestrian facilities throughout the site for safe pedestrian circulation that Staff finds imperative to keep
within the DA to assist in compliance with mixed-use policies and the desired site design.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
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The Applicant proposes to replace the existing DA with a new one for the purpose of incorporating a
new conceptual development plan. A multi-family development is proposed to develop on the north
half of the site consisting of approximately 60 apartment units, according to the submitted concept plan.
Per the submitted plan and conceptual elevations, the apartment units are proposed as townhome style
units in the form of two-story 3-plexes and 4-plexes with each unit having a front-loaded garage and
parking pad. In addition, the submitted conceptual development plan depicts the east-west street shown
on the existing concept plan as remaining but appears to be a public road—this east-west road connects
to Venable on the east boundary as the main access point for the site and also provides future
connectivity to the west should the adjacent property redevelop in the future. In addition, the public
street stubbed to the north property boundary is shown as terminating within the site as part of the multi-
family drive aisles instead of continuing through the site which concerns Staff (further analysis is
below). Therefore, no connection to Ustick is proposed either via public street or commercial drive
aisle with the new conceptual development plan. Furthermore, a rezone application has not been
submitted so the proposed multi-family use in the existing C-C zoning district will require conditional
use permit (CUP) approval. Staff would analyze specific development criteria and specific use
standards at the time of the CUP submittal.
Off-street parking would be required per the standards listed in UDC Table 11-3C-6 for multi-family
developments. Qualified open space would also be required, per the standards listed in UDC 11-4-3-
27C. Compliance with the specific use standards listed in UDC 11-4-3-27 for multi-family
developments is required and would be reviewed with the CUP application. Adjustments may be
necessary to the concept plan to comply with these standards and any ACHD required revisions.
The subject site is part of a Mixed-Use Community (MU-C) future land use area—this designation calls
for a mix of residential and commercial land uses that are thoughtfully integrated. One of the reasons
the Applicant has stated for requesting this DA Modification is the subject site has sat vacant in its
current configuration and entitlements for over a decade. Within this MU-C area, detached single-
family, apartments, office/retail, and Civic uses are existing and planned (future land use designations
are not parcel specific so an area of the baseball fields in Settlers Park are within this MU-C area).
There is existing multi-family directly south of the subject site on the south side of Ustick; additional
multi-family is approved at the southeast corner of the Venable and Ustick intersection. Directly to the
east is a relatively small office park with five (5) buildings and is the only commercial component in
this MU-C area. Because of the multi-family development on the south side of Ustick, this may be
the only area that could develop with neighborhood serving commercial uses. During the review
of the Summertown project (SEC of Venable and Ustick), staff did forego recommending a
commercial component as part of that project because this property was already zoned for
commercial and Staff was in favor of preserving this property for future commercial uses.
Although the proposed development would be a new type of residential in this area (townhome
style instead of traditional garden style walk-up apartments), the submitted concept plan lacks
many of the design concepts shown and outlined in the comprehensive plan for mixed-use areas.
In general, the future commercial area is being reduced while increasing the residential area and
its impact in this area of the City with little to no neighborhood serving commercial uses. At a
minimum, the following mixed-use policies are not met with the proposed plan whereas the
existing one does comply:
• Mixed use areas should be centered around spaces that are well-designed public and quasi-
public centers of activity. Spaces should be activated and incorporate permanent design
elements and amenities that foster a wide variety of interests ranging from leisure to play. These
areas should be thoughtfully integrated into the development and further placemaking
opportunities considered. Staff does not find the proposed concept plan meets this policy as
no integration of the residential and commercial areas are shown; no placemaking or
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thoughtful integration of the mix of uses is present in the proposed concept plan especially
when compared to the existing commercial concept plan.
• Supportive and proportional public and/or quasi-public spaces and places including but not
limited to parks, plazas, outdoor gathering areas, open space, libraries, and schools that
comprise a minimum of 5% of the development area are required. Outdoor seating areas at
restaurants do not count towards this requirement. Based on the submitted concept plan,
there are not enough details to show compliance with this plan. The proposed multi-family
residential area appears to be isolated and no shared areas are shown, as noted in this
policy.
• All mixed use projects should be accessible to adjacent neighborhoods by both vehicles and
pedestrians. Pedestrian circulation should be convenient and interconnect different land use
types. Vehicle connectivity should not rely on arterial streets for neighborhood access.
Although the proposed concept plan does not require arterial streets for neighborhood
access, the plan would force residents from the north to drive through the multi-family
development to get to the commercial which could force them to utilize Venable for ease of
access, further reducing accessibility for this mixed use area. Furthermore, there are
minimal pedestrian facilities shown on the proposed plan to connect the existing residential
and the proposed residential to the commercial along Ustick; it appears the intent is for
residents to use the multi-family drive aisles which does not provide adequate pedestrian
safety.
• A mixed use project should include at least three types of land uses. Exceptions may be
granted for smaller sites on a case-by-case basis. This land use is not intended for high
density residential development alone. As noted, not each mixed-use project is intended to
provide at least three types of land uses. However, with the existing and approved
development in this MU-C area, a vast majority of the area will be medium and high-
density residential which is not a desired outcome. Staff finds reducing the last remaining
area of undeveloped commercial area to incorporate more residential is in direct
contradiction to this policy.
Overall, Staff is concerned the proposed plan is more residentially focused, lacks integration
with the commercial area, and does not comply with the mixed-use policies in the comprehensive
plan. For the reasons and concerns noted, Staff is not supportive of the proposed DA modification
and has recommended denial of the request.
IV. DECISION
A. Staff:
Staff recommends denial of the modification to the DA as proposed by the Applicant and finds the
existing concept plan and DA provisions are better suited to address development of the subject
property.
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V. EXHIBITS
A. Existing Approved Conceptual Development Plans (dated: October 2016)
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B. Proposed Conceptual Development Plan and Elevations (dated: 9/20/2021)
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C. Legal Description for Property Subject to Development Agreement