North Ogden planning commission approves Barker Depot site plan with conditions

The North Ogden City Planning Commission approved a site plan for the Barker Depot commercial development — two drive‑through buildings and a three‑tenant building with an additional drive‑through — located near 350 East and 2600 North, subject to conditions in the staff report.

The approval, which the commission voted unanimously to grant after a staff presentation and responses from the applicant, allows the developer to proceed with building permits after meeting conditions that include added glazing or faux windows on street‑facing façades, a public entrance/door on the single‑tenant building, pedestrian connections to adjacent sidewalks and administrative completion of a three‑lot subdivision tied to the project.

Ryan Nunn, planning staff, summarized the application as “a single tenant with a drive through and then a 3‑tenant building with another drive through” and said the plan largely complies with the city’s commercial code but requires specific design and connectivity adjustments. Nunn told the commission the project is being handled with an administrative subdivision because it is under the city’s 10‑lot threshold, and that staff will require the subdivision to be finalized in parallel with site plan conditions.

Alexis Riggs, representing RKF Properties and Leading Tech, told the commission the applicant is willing to make the design and pedestrian changes requested. “We’re willing to make those adjustments and get that worked out with the planning department,” Riggs said, noting the team would coordinate with the neighboring America First Credit Union on potential shared connections.

Key conditions listed in staff materials and discussed at the meeting include: (1) increasing glazing or adding spandrel/faux windows on façades that front Washington Boulevard and 2600 North so these sides do not read as blank rear walls; (2) adding a public entrance/door to the single‑tenant drive‑through building to meet the commercial entrance requirement; (3) providing pedestrian interconnectivity — a marked crosswalk through the west drive aisle and a walkway from the east sidewalk into the site — with details to be approved administratively by staff; (4) site amenities roughly every 50 feet along the street frontage (benches, trash receptacles or decorative trees may qualify); (5) final designs for trash enclosures, lighting and streetscape to be approved during building permit review.

Staff also noted the parking plan meets the city’s off‑street parking standards for the proposed uses, but warned that continued food‑oriented development along the corridor may require future shared‑use parking agreements. The proposal shows three food users across the two buildings; engineering drawings indicate two grease trap devices (one for the single‑tenant building and a shared grease trap for the multi‑tenant building), and staff said they will ensure grease‑trap sizing and connections are adequate for the anticipated loads.

The site plan approval is tied to an administrative three‑lot subdivision (America First Credit Union on the corner plus the two drive‑through lots). Nunn said the subdivision has been submitted administratively and that the commission’s site plan approval is conditioned on the applicant completing the subdivision process.

Commissioners voted to approve the site plan on a unanimous voice vote. The meeting record shows Commissioner Watson, Commissioner Gardner, Commissioner Neighbor, Commissioner Green, Commissioner Bailey and the chair recorded “yes” votes; Commissioner Webb was excused.

The commission’s approval allows the developer to proceed with building permit submittals once the conditions are satisfied and the administrative subdivision is finalized. Staff told the commission many of the remaining design details will be handled during the building permit review and administratively, and that the applicant has already committed to several of the required changes.

Planning staff noted the Barker Depot approval follows several years of work to combine properties on the block and will be followed imminently by a separate site plan submittal from America First Credit Union for its new branch on the corner.