Planning commission recommends Fortner annexation, forwards zoning recommendation to city council

The Sandy Planning Commission voted to recommend that the city council approve the Fortner annexation, a request to add three parcels on or near 8564 South and 8590 South 10th East to the city and apply residential zoning to the sites.

Brian Mcuston, assistant community development director, told the commission the annexation covers just over one acre and includes two parcels with the 8564 address (one with a house and one vacant) and a corner parcel at 8590 South 10th East that contains an existing duplex. Mcuston said the parcels are currently zoned A-1 in the county and that, in prior similar annexations, the city has applied an R1-10 zone (10,000-square-foot minimum lots). Because the corner parcel already contains a duplex, staff recommended R2-10 for that parcel so the duplex would be a legal, conforming use rather than nonconforming.

The recommendation was made to ensure that existing uses are preserved upon annexation while matching the city's typical single-family residential standard for parcels coming from A-1 county zoning. No substantive public testimony was offered on the annexation in person; one remote participant, Steve Van Maren, joined to note a technical problem with the meeting's video feed but did not comment on the substance of the annexation.

A commissioner moved to forward a positive recommendation to city council that the annexation be approved and zoned R1-10 and R2-10 (staff referenced these zoning categories during the presentation). The motion was seconded and carried in a roll-call vote with the following recorded yes votes: David Hart, Danny Schoenfeld, Ron Mortimer, Steve Wrigley and Dave Bromley. The commission did not record any no votes or abstentions on the motion.

The commission's positive recommendation will be transmitted to the Sandy City Council for final action; the planning commission record notes the applicant was not present at the hearing.