Commissioners table multifamily zoning merger after extensive public hearing; staff to refine split‑zone and setback options

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission on March 12 paused a proposal to merge the RMF 35 and RMF 45 multifamily zoning districts and to update lot, form and design standards intended to allow "missing middle" housing. After more than an hour of staff presentation and robust public comment, members of the commission voted to table the item and requested staff return with refined options and targeted rezones.

Planner Aaron Barlow and Planning Manager Chrissy Gilmore presented the background and rationale: staff argued that current multifamily rules — especially minimum lot size, lot width, and parking and setback rules — make development infeasible on many lots within the two districts and that the city’s adopted housing plans call for regulatory changes to increase housing supply near transit and employment centers. Barlow summarized the proposal’s components: consolidating RMF 35 and RMF 45 into a single district, regulating by building form with design standards, easing lot requirements to enable for-sale products, adding preservation incentives and unit bonuses for retaining existing buildings, and offering optional incentives for affordable units.

Public hearing…