Planning commission opens public hearing on text amendment to ease multifamily exception; continues item for legal review

The Orem City Planning Commission on June 4 opened a public hearing on a staff-proposed text amendment to the special-exception rule for multifamily dwellings and then continued the item to the commission's first meeting in July for additional legal review.

What was proposed: The amendment would revise the city's special-exception provision (section 22.21) that allows a single-family zoned lot surrounded by multifamily development to be redeveloped as multifamily. The proposed changes described by staff and the applicant include: - Expanding the eligible lot-size range and density: staff said the current exception caps eligibility for the most intensive allowances at 20,000 square feet; the proposal would allow lots between roughly 8,000 and 48,000 square feet and add a formula for lots over 20,000 sq ft of 1 unit per 2,950 sq ft (about 14.75 units per acre) with a 5% bonus for certain construction standards. Jared, a city staff member, explained the density math and that the change would create eligibility for a small number of additional lots. - Relaxing timing for removal of existing structures: the proposed draft would strike language that currently…