Council reviews Take 5 oil-change concept for West Lehi shopping center; staff says PDP/ODP amendments will be required

City planning staff and the applicant presented a concept plan review on Oct. 6 for a proposed Take 5 Oil Change at 9140 Wadsworth Parkway in the West Lehi subdivision.

Staff said the property is zoned planned-unit development (PUD) and designated commercial mixed use in the comprehensive plan; adding an oil-change land use will require a preliminary development plan (PDP) amendment and, if advanced, an official development plan (ODP) amendment. Staff noted the site has constraints — including an existing deep utility easement and topography — that have made prior redevelopment proposals difficult.

Jim Gamble of Claycon Development said the proposal is for a roughly 1,700-square-foot, three-bay, drive-through facility in the existing vacant building footprint. He described the Take 5 operation as a “drive-through only oil change facility” and said customers typically remain in their vehicles for a 10- to 15-minute service. He said the typical on-site staffing would be about five employees and that the business averages about 30 cars per day in similar markets.

Council members asked detailed questions about circulation, visibility and safety. Councilor Carmelia expressed concern about the site's merge lanes and the safety of customers entering and leaving the parcel; she asked the applicant to study queuing and ingress/egress because drivers attempting last-minute turns from the highway can create hazards. Councilor DeMotte and others noted the parking lot already has areas of conflict and recommended additional signage, stricter internal circulation patterns or traffic calming such as raised crosswalks or pavement markers.

Planning staff said auto-oriented uses are allowed as a secondary use in the commercial-mixed-use designation where no residential structures are located; the code limits secondary auto uses to no more than 25% of a site and allows up to two auto-oriented uses on a property this size. Staff and the applicant said the proposed use would not exceed that threshold and noted that the applicant has already revised the site plan to increase stacking and to simplify architecture so the facade better matches the existing center.

Council members asked the applicant to work with staff on a traffic- and circulation-focused refinement prior to any formal PDP/ODP application; staff said the concept review record and public-notification steps — including mailed notices and a neighborhood meeting if required — will occur during formal review. As a concept review, council comments were nonbinding; council offered general support for reuse of the vacant storefront while asking the applicant to address the circulation, queuing and street-facing architecture concerns raised in the meeting.