Planning commission denies variance to build inside 30% slope at 2857 N. Iroquois Drive

The Provo Planning Commission on June 25 denied a variance request that would have allowed a new single-family home to encroach on slopes greater than 30% at 2857 North Iroquois Drive in the Rock Canyon neighborhood.

Staff told commissioners the subdivision that created the new lot already included plans showing how a house could be sited without entering the 30% slope area and recommended denial. Jessica Dinecki, a city planner presenting the item, said the application did not meet the code’s variance criteria because the applicant had demonstrated a buildable option that avoided the steep slope.

That recommendation framed the meeting’s central question: whether the property had an ‘‘unreasonable hardship’’ or special circumstances that would justify violating Provo City Code 15.05.160 (hillside development standards). The commission’s discussion repeatedly…