The Riverton City Council voted to allow new and used auto dealerships as a conditional use in the city's Commercial Gateway zone and rezoned the Walker property at 2630 West 12600 South to that zone.

The council approved the zoning text amendment (referred to as "-Dash 23" in meeting materials) and then adopted Ordinance 25-25 rezoning the Walker property after public hearings and staff presentations. Council members voted unanimously on both measures.

The text amendment makes auto dealerships a conditional use in the Commercial Gateway zone rather than a use that is outright permitted or not allowed. Under the new language, any dealership would need site-plan approval and architectural review, be located on a finished commercial site with permanent buildings meeting the city's architectural standards, and may include service bays only for vehicles sold on the lot. Full-service auto repair accepting outside customers remains a distinct use that would require its own conditional-use permit.

Staff said the amendment is intended to reintroduce dealers to parts of the city where they previously existed while limiting potential negative impacts. The code includes a provision that no more than one auto dealership may operate within 1.5 miles of another dealership inside the Commercial Gateway zone, a restriction staff described as an incremental approach to reintroducing the use and subject to later revision if needed.

At the same meeting the council considered a rezoning request for the Walker property, a roughly 1.16-acre parcel just east of the Riverton High School intersection. Planning staff and the applicant described the lot as awkwardly shaped with a shared UDOT-approved driveway and said assigning Commercial Gateway zoning would align it with adjacent parcels along the 126 South corridor and broaden potential, code-compliant uses.

Members of the public and industry representatives spoke in favor of allowing dealerships in the zone if done to the city's development standards. Adam Jones, representing the Utah Automotive Alliance and identifying himself as a Riverton resident, said a local dealer could partner with Riverton High School's automotive program and pointed to sales-tax revenue generated by auto sales. Josiah Teshner of Eagle Mountain and representatives from the applicant also urged approval, describing the prospective operator as community-oriented and citing plans for landscaping, limited night lighting and an indoor showroom.

Council members said the proposed language protects the city's appearance and allows review through the conditional-use and site-plan processes. Council member Perucci called the proposal an "elegant solution" because it requires investment and permanence while not excluding entrepreneurs. Council member McDougall emphasized the city's long-term strategy of concentrating commercial uses along the 126 South corridor.

The council passed the text amendment and the Walker-property rezoning by roll-call votes. For both measures the roll call recorded the following votes: McDougall: yes; Perucci: yes; Barroker: yes; Hammons: yes; McKay: yes.

Next steps for any prospective dealership include formal site-plan review, conditional-use permitting and compliance with Riverton's architectural and landscaping standards before construction or operations can begin. The applicant indicated an intention to donate one vehicle annually to the high school's vocational program and said the business would not operate late-night hours; representatives said lights would be turned off after business hours (stated as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday'Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the meeting).

The council and staff said they expect to monitor how the reintroduction of dealerships functions and to revisit the 1.5-mile limit or other code provisions if adjustments are needed.