Commission recommends denying off‑site parking exception for Cherry Hill Farms produce stand after safety, screening concerns

The Alpine City Planning Commission recommended denying an applicant’s request for exceptions that would allow a nearby lot to serve as off‑site parking for a popular produce stand and to permit a hard‑packed surface and alternate striping instead of a paved lot.

Planner Ryan Robinson explained the request: the produce stand sought to use a parcel across Bateman Lane for customer parking and asked exceptions to the city’s usual off‑site parking rules, surface‑material standards and lighting hours. Robinson said the applicant submitted a traffic and pedestrian plan that would add a four‑foot concrete sidewalk and a crosswalk, and had provided a memo addressing the code’s off‑site parking exception criteria.

Public safety and neighborhood impacts dominated public comment. Multiple nearby residents described episodes when dozens of vehicles parked along Bateman, Cascade and adjacent streets during busy weekends. Resident Chase Burchas of 115 North 200 East said he had seen large semi trucks on neighborhood streets when the former factory operated at the site. Neighbors emphasized children walking to and from nearby schools and called for solutions that would remove curbside parking from the neighborhood.

Commissioners and staff discussed mitigation measures the city had suggested, including no‑parking signage with the Alpine City logo—so violations would be enforceable—fencing or a masonry screen at the parking lot edge, a sign at the Cascade corner directing customers to the designated lot, and formal coordination with Public Works on crosswalk locations. Robinson noted topography near one of the proposed parking areas would require retaining walls to gain additional spaces and that mature trees and steep grades limit where additional parking could be added without expensive earthwork.

Commission action: A motion to recommend approval with conditions failed on a roll call vote. A subsequent motion to recommend denial carried on a roll call and was recorded as a 4–2 recommendation to the City Council; the commission cited insufficient mitigation of public‑safety and privacy/screening concerns and inadequate additional parking compared with observed peak‑period demand.

What’s next: The Planning Commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for review. The applicant may revise the proposal and return to the commission or present additional information to the council. The city noted that persistent safety or nuisance issues related to the produce stand’s operation could be addressed through the conditional‑use permit process in the future if mitigation proved inadequate.

Clarifying details on standards and staff recommendations: Robinson noted Alpine City Code requires off‑site parking to be on the same lot or an adjacent parcel, or within 200 feet of the primary use; the applicant had reconfigured the parcel layout to meet the 200‑foot requirement. Staff recommended adding no‑parking signs installed by the city every 50 feet on one side of Bateman, requiring a visible city logo, and working with Public Works to identify an appropriate, well‑marked pedestrian crossing or alternative safe route.