Draper staff shows station-area concept with mixed-use, plaza and trail connections; council pushes for lower heights on city land

City planning staff presented conceptual renderings of a station-area plan that would redevelop parcels near the transit station with mixed-use buildings, plazas and a trail corridor connecting to the Port of Rockwell Trail.

The presentation described mixed-use commercial with housing above along 120th South, residential behind that, and a trail corridor along the canal. Staff also showed three building concepts: a three-story mixed-use edge on city-owned property, five-story mixed-use buildings on UTA property with parking structured below, and staggered four-story buildings as a buffer between UTA land and nearby neighborhoods. “The concept primarily looks at city property and the MTA property,” presenter Jennifer said. “It calls for potential redevelopment in any of the commercial area adjacent, calls for redevelopment of the industrial area adjacent, and looks at the rest of the town center zoning district to remain town center, have infill redevelopment as has been already happening.”

Council members voiced particular concern about building massing and height on city-owned land facing Pioneer Road. “I’m significantly more concerned about Pioneer… I would rather focus on putting housing on the UTA side, where it’s gonna be closer to 120 Third, and trying to alleviate traffic on Pioneer, and trying to make Pioneer more of the gathering place,” Council member Lowery said. Lowery asked staff to prioritize lower heights and more public space on the city parcel, saying the community is “not used to anything longer higher than two stories along there.”

Staff said the renderings were illustrative and that specific development standards would be implemented through city code. “Implementation of the plans is in the code that we adopt,” staff said, noting that the renderings show possible outcomes while the code will lock in requirements such as materials, site access to open space and building design.

Developers and UTA were discussed as separate actors: staff said UTA has indicated a five-story minimum on its property, which constrains how low the buildings can be on that parcel. Council members asked staff to explore design and code changes that would break up large building masses — for example, by requiring stepped building facades, varied heights and more visible, accessible green space rather than interior courtyards that appear as “a gigantic box” from the street.

Next steps outlined by staff include tweaking the drawings based on council input, meeting with the stakeholder committee, holding a public open house, and returning to the council in March with recommended code language to implement the plan. No formal vote was taken; staff will draft code provisions and further refine the concept for public review and future council consideration.