Planning Commission forwards Title 14 amenity-scoring proposal for multifamily projects to city council, 7-1

The Provo City Planning Commission on Jan. 22 voted 7-1 to forward a positive recommendation to the Provo City Council for ordinance text amendments to Title 14 that would establish a citywide scored menu of amenities for multifamily developments.

City planner Anna Sauls presented the proposal as a flexible, scored list of amenities that assigns points to features developers can include to meet a minimum threshold. Sauls said the approach “does not require EV charging, doesn’t require any specific amenities,” and allows the development services director to approve substitutions for items not on the list.

The proposal, Sauls told commissioners, is intended to communicate city priorities while preserving developer flexibility. She said items were scored based on usefulness to residents, developer cost and footprint, departmental priorities and council feedback; she added that larger developers “liked the transparency on city priorities” and that most developers found the approach feasible.

Commissioners focused their questions on two themes: whether the city should be setting amenity requirements that could resemble homeowner-association rules and whether the requirements could raise costs or reduce delivery of lower-cost rental units. Commissioner Lisa Jensen asked how the city could justify requirements without acting like an HOA; Sauls replied the changes “meet general plan requirements” and that the city is allowing broad design flexibility rather than prescriptive specifications.

Commissioner Adam Shinn and others said they worried amenities requirements could raise building costs for smaller developers and potentially reduce supply at the lower end of the rental market; Shinn said he was “hesitant to put new roadblocks” in front of affordable housing builders. Commissioner Andrew South and Commissioner Jeff Whitlock countered that many mid- and high-market projects already include the amenities and that the menu is intended to nudge the market and provide capacity for items such as EV charging.

Sauls and commissioners referenced specific design and scoring details: staff proposed that EV capacity and pet open space rank highly among amenities; Sauls said the EV threshold used to count toward points would be tied to a share of parking (staff noted a 5% EV-space threshold in public discussion). Commissioners also asked about low-cost point options; the presentation included example point values such as 42 points for pet open space and 20 points for a bike repair station, and staff said the menu includes low-cost options intended to let smaller projects meet thresholds without large outlays.

There were no public commenters on the item. After discussion, a commissioner moved to forward a positive recommendation to the municipal council with the understanding that staff would pass along the commission’s concerns; the motion passed 7–1, with Commissioner Adam Shinn recorded as voting no.

The proposal now goes to the Provo City Council for final consideration. If adopted by ordinance, the scored-amenity approach would apply citywide and would not, as presented to the commission, mandate particular amenities or change total amenity-space minimums in most zones (staff noted one zone where the numeric requirement would be adjusted as part of the amendment).