Commission recommends approval for Northgate Ridge PUD and preliminary plat, with infrastructure conditions

The Pocatello City Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 13 recommended approval of the Northgate Ridge planned unit development (PUD) and the related Northgate Ridge Divisions 1–5 preliminary plat, clearing the proposals to move forward subject to conditions in the staff report and required infrastructure improvements.

Buck Sweeney, principal of SmartTown LLC, represented the applicant; Paul Feazer served as the engineer on the project. Matthew Lewis, senior planner for Pocatello City, told the commission that the PUD covers roughly 20.41 acres and proposes 283 lot-line townhomes and associated common areas and amenities. Lewis said the request includes waivers under Pocatello Municipal Code section 17.02.140 to allow lot-size averaging and a waiver related to 0-lot-line building retention requirements for townhomes, citing similar approvals granted for other PUDs in the city. "When taking into account the total lots of the subdivision, including all common areas, the minimum lot size is 3,119 square feet," Lewis said for the north PUD area; he reported similar lot-size-averaging calculations for the south PUD.

The commission also considered a preliminary plat to subdivide approximately 83 acres into 374 lots for Northgate Ridge divisions 1 through 5. Lewis described a planned transition from lower-intensity single-family lots at higher elevations to medium- and higher-density housing and mixed-use at the lower end of the site, and outlined proposed public roads including Gold Star Drive, Olympus Drive, Northgate Parkway, Silver Star Drive and a roundabout. Lewis said city departments and utility providers were notified and staff recommended approval with the conditions listed in the staff report.

Merrill Quail, public works engineer for Pocatello City, clarified infrastructure timing: the city has no inherent water-capacity concerns but the plat requires construction of transmission lines as off-site improvements before building can proceed. "Those transmission lines are gonna be required before any of that can be built," Quail said, noting those are off-site improvements summarized in the public works memorandum.

During applicant testimony, Paul Feazer and Buck Sweeney described the project as mixed-use with for-sale townhome product. Sweeney said the townhomes would be "for sale product," and the team described the product as "attainable housing," while acknowledging that exact affordability levels were not guaranteed at the outset. The applicant confirmed units would be three-story and two-story townhome prototypes with variations in color and materials.

Several commissioners asked about roadway connections and prior conditions attached to an earlier preliminary plat approval; the applicant and staff said this is a new preliminary plat and that prior conditions or agreements (including a nondisturbance agreement tied to adjacent property owner Robert Hart) affect feasibility of a specific southward road connection that had been discussed previously.

The commission approved motions to recommend the PUD and to approve the preliminary plat (the preliminary-plat motion included a condition specifying the engineer’s plat overlay version in the packet as the plat to be recorded). Motions were made and seconded as recorded; roll-call votes recorded a majority of yes votes on both items, and the actions were recorded as approvals subject to the staff-report conditions and infrastructure requirements.

The approvals advance Northgate Ridge through the city’s land-use review process; required off-site transmission lines and other public-works conditions must be completed in accordance with the staff report and public works memorandum before building permits are issued.