Far West City planning commission and council refine general plan; cemetery, trails and corridor use debated

Far West City planning commissioners and the City Council met in a joint work session on Sept. 18 to review edits to the draft general plan ahead of an open house and a planned Nov. 13 public hearing.

The planning commission presented revised chapters and a timeline that includes an open house Oct. 22 and a public hearing Nov. 13. Planning Commission Chair Lyle said the commission wants the council’s feedback before finalizing chapters and maps.

Council members and commission members focused discussion on several recurring items: whether to retain a stated goal to “consider” a city cemetery; where to put trail specifications; how to describe planned-development (PD) overlays and mixed-use areas; and which uses should be allowed along the city’s central corridor between 1800 North and 2700 North.

On the cemetery, commissioners said past public input had been split but recommended keeping “consider a semi‑city cemetery” in the plan as an option while pursuing more detailed implementation work. Commissioner Lyle noted upkeep and recordkeeping responsibilities could require a sexton or a special district and that a special-district funding model is an option. The council directed staff to keep the consideration language and to identify potential general-plan locations rather than remove the goal.

On trails, the council agreed not to embed detailed construction specifications in the general plan. Council member Jason (committee lead for trails) said the active-transportation plan should remain an addendum and contain the minimum trail specifications, with the general plan referencing that document and its maps.

Council members asked staff to remove a stale sentence that listed “seven zones” in the zoning ordinance and to rely on maps and references rather than repeating detailed zone lists that will quickly become out of date.

A sustained portion of the meeting centered on future land use and the commercial corridor between the canal and Higley Road. Several council members pressed to discourage large “wholesale/warehousing” or “flex space” uses in the city’s central gateway, arguing such blocky, industrial-style buildings would be visually and functionally incompatible with a Main Street-type character. One council member said, “If we're going to make this something like a Main Street, that is not compatible with that kind of a feeling,” and urged language that encourages storefronts with parking behind and mixed uses that support pedestrian activity.

Commissioners and council members also discussed PD overlays and development agreements. The group agreed to add a general bullet in the plan that notes PD overlays and development agreements are options and to better explain the intent so applicants understand the overlay is not a straight density giveaway but a tool to achieve design and public‑benefit objectives.

Other edits agreed by the group: remove or update references that had become out of date (example: images, an outdated list of future parks and an item about a library), clarify a note about broadband buildout and the city’s open‑trench policy for new subdivisions, and retain the plan’s language supporting open space. The council asked staff to update the plan graphics to reflect recommended land‑use language rather than embedding long descriptive lists in text.

The planning commission will incorporate the changes, update exhibit maps and return the revised text for final review before the Oct. 22 open house and the Nov. 13 public hearing.

The council and commission emphasized that public comment at the open house and hearing may still prompt changes.

Ending: Council members encouraged residents and commissioners to re‑read the draft and submit comments before the open house so the plan can move toward formal adoption at the November hearing.