Orem council work session debates simplifying land-use categories, proposes multifamily and agricultural designations

Orem city officials and planning staff spent much of an Aug. 20 pre-meeting work session debating how to simplify and update the city's general-plan land-use categories, with discussion centered on whether to consolidate duplicate residential classifications, create a distinct multifamily category, and establish an agricultural/open-space designation.

The discussion matters because the general plan directs future zoning and reinvestment priorities across Orem. Staff said clearer categories would help the city target infrastructure and grant funding for older neighborhoods and guide future zoning updates.

Grant (staff member) opened the discussion by reviewing the existing land-use chapter and the current classification list: rural/rural residential, low-, medium- and high-density residential; commercial (professional, community, regional); industrial (light, heavy); mixed-use; and planned development (PD) zones. He said the team will revise the map and had posted draft chapters to a shared Google Drive for comments.

Councilmember Madeline and several other participants said many current categories are redundant and confusing. Multiple speakers suggested collapsing or clarifying categories so residents and developers can more easily determine what is allowed. Participants repeatedly noted that many Orem neighborhoods are already built out and that the general plan should clarify policy intent (for example, whether a designation is meant to spur reinvestment, preserve character, or allow redevelopment), rather than only restating numerical density ranges.

Participants proposed three specific changes: establish a distinct agricultural/open-space category (to protect orchards and small-scale farming in parts of the city), create a multifamily designation separate from "high density" (to better address redevelopment of fourplexes, duplexes and mobile home parks), and simplify single-family categories by using clearer thresholds rather than multiple nearly identical zones.

Council members proposed a practical dividing line for agricultural/open-space at approximately a half-acre lot size: lots at or above a half-acre would be candidates for the agricultural/open-space category, while smaller lots would remain in single-family residential designations. Speakers described how half-acre properties currently accommodate small-scale farming or orchards and argued a clear threshold would make the plan easier to apply and explain to residents.

On multifamily housing, several commissioners said the city needs to acknowledge existing pockets of attached housing (twin homes, fourplexes, duplexes) and mobile-home parks and prepare distinct zoning and code tools to allow reinvestment and maintenance. One repeated point: many multifamily areas exist on narrow streets and older infrastructure, so design and service standards (parking, street width) should be tied to any land-use designation intended to encourage reinvestment.

Staff noted that designations in the general plan do not automatically rewrite zoning code; instead, the plan sets the intent that will inform later zoning and code updates. Participants agreed the general-plan language should say where the city wants to encourage reinvestment (for example, targeted medium-density neighborhoods) so future zoning, grant applications and infrastructure investments can follow.

Speakers also discussed commercial categories, saying current commercial zone labels (C-1, C-2, C-3, business park, professional office) are applied inconsistently across the city. Participants favored adding neighborhood commercial and medical-commercial classifications to distinguish small, walkable neighborhood retail from larger regional or medical campuses.

The discussion closed with staff proposing to produce draft language and several alternative classification tables for the commission and council to review and comment on at future meetings.

The work session ended with agreement to continue refining the draft land-use chapter and to draft explicit language for an agricultural/open-space designation, a multifamily category, and streamlined residential classifications.