Nordic Valley seeks street‑plan amendments to move density and allow parallel parking

Developers for Nordic Valley presented a proposed amendment to their development agreement at the Sept. 15 county work session that would adjust the adopted street‑regulating plan, shifting some density and allowing selected deviations from the county’s form‑based street standards.

County staff said the Ogden Valley Planning Commission reviewed the proposed changes and recommended approval. The amendment moves a higher‑density area shown on the current exhibit from the northeast area to parcels south of that location and proposes pulling a roadway farther from adjacent neighbors and above an expanded irrigation and snow‑making pond. Planning staff said the shift reduced development visibility and the change received favorable reaction from residents along the eastern boundary.

The proposal would not change zoning designations; staff said the development agreement amendment would allow the project to depart from certain form‑based technical standards in limited cases where topography makes the code’s angled on‑street parking impractical. The developers asked that two multifamily/mixed‑use street types be allowed to use parallel parking in lieu of angle parking where grades reach 8–10 percent; staff said the street‑type changes would not reduce the project’s required parking supply because most resident and commercial parking would be accommodated in structured or undercover stalls.

“None of the parking that's on the street is necessary to account for any of our residential or commercial parking,” an applicant representative said, explaining on‑street stalls are excess convenience stalls rather than required spaces. Developers also intend to expand existing water ponds used for snowmaking and said the road changes move vehicle traffic farther from neighboring properties.

Staff and commissioners said the deviations were the type of flexibility intended when the form‑based code was adopted and, because the change is adopted through a development agreement rather than by changing the countywide form‑based ordinance, the amendment would be tied to the project rather than altering the underlying code.

The county will schedule the amendment for a public hearing; staff said they expect it to appear on a consent calendar after the required noticing because the planning commission recommended approval and few public objections were raised at the planning hearing.