Planning commission hears Junction Commons master plan; raises questions on height, parking, traffic and affordable housing

The Snyderville Basin Planning Commission on Sept. 23 held a lengthy public hearing on the Junction Commons master plan — a proposed redevelopment of an existing outlet center into a 19‑building mixed‑use neighborhood featuring retail, structured parking and residential units, including affordable housing.

Senior planners, the applicant team and consultants described a project the applicant said would convert roughly 330,000 square feet of existing retail and large surface parking into a mixed‑use neighborhood they estimate at about 433 residential unit equivalents with about 141.8 affordable unit equivalents. The applicant said it has already invested about $11,000,000 in initial improvements to the property. The master plan application seeks a rezoning to an NMU (new mixed‑use) zone and, where allowed by the code, an exception to allow buildings up to 60 feet in locations the applicant says are visually and topographically screened; the IMU/zoning baseline cited by staff is 45 feet by right.

Project team presentations were led by an applicant representative identified as Adam (San Reman Real Estate) and Craig Elliott, principal of LA Work Group (landscape/urban design). They outlined a phased approach: Phase 1 already under way (about 18 months of initial reinvestment and façade/tenant changes), Phase 2…