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Tooele City staff proposes zoning code changes to clarify twin homes, duplexes and condominiums
Summary
City staff presented proposed amendments to Tooele City Code (Title 7) to add definitions for twin homes and duplexes, permit condominiums conditionally in some zones, and allow 0-lot-line twin‑home configurations to match existing development patterns.
Tooele City Community Development Director Andrew Agard told the Tooele City Council on June 4 that staff will move forward with ordinance amendments to clarify how two‑unit housing is regulated in residential zones.
The changes would add definitions distinguishing duplexes from twin homes, allow dwelling condominiums conditionally in some R‑17 and R‑18 zones, specify lot‑size requirements for twin homes, and add two footnotes to permit 0‑lot‑line configurations for internal setbacks.
The proposal aims to resolve ambiguity that currently allows two‑unit rental duplexes where a parcel is simply twice the zone’s minimum lot size but does not address developments in which a building is split by a property line (twin homes) or where condominiums were used to create separate ownership. Agard told the council the city’s code “does not address twin homes or the construction of a building over the property line,” and that the draft amendments would add definitions and table changes so staff and developers have clear standards.
Agard used recent local examples to illustrate the issue: Gossamer Place was platted to accommodate rental duplexes with lots of 14,000 square feet in the R‑17 zone; Porter's Place used a condominium plat even though the staff later found condo plats were prohibited in certain R‑17 and R‑18 sections of Tooele City Code; Shetland Meadows includes twin homes on lots as small as about 4,000 square feet under earlier zoning; and Par 4 Estates twin homes near the golf course were built on lots around 5,000 square feet using a planned unit development (PUD).
Specific clarifications Agard described: - Add a definition in Tooele City Code Title 7, Chapter 1, Section 5 to define “twin home” as a two‑family dwelling where ownership is divided so each unit is a separate lot, and to add a separate definition for “duplex.” - Amend Title 7, Chapter 14 tables (Tables 1–3) to list twin homes alongside two‑family dwellings and set the minimum lot sizes “as required by the zone.” - Allow condominium plats as a conditional use in R‑17 and R‑18 for two‑unit ownership, addressing a discovered prohibition in “Tooele City Code 7‑14‑1” that previously prevented condo plats in those zones. - Remove obsolete cross‑references to older MDR/HDR zones and delete minimum lot width rules that date from before the current MR zones, and add two footnotes to the side‑yard setback table to permit 0‑lot‑line internal setbacks for twin homes.
Agard said staff will incorporate comments from the city attorney (Roger) before returning the draft for formal review and public hearings. Council members asked clarifying questions; one councilmember said the added definitions “helped me to understand the differences.” Agard concluded, “I’ll get it moving through the process,” indicating staff will advance the amendments for formal consideration.
The discussion was informational; council did not take a formal vote on the ordinance text at the June 4 work meeting. Next steps identified were internal revisions to reflect attorney comments and routing the amended ordinance through the city’s ordinance/public‑hearing process.
