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Planning commission reviews commercial and industrial zoning rules; height limits and downtown parking highlighted
Summary
At a work session the Payson Planning Commission discussed remaining zoning districts—including professional office, central commercial, CAP (Commercial Arts and Preservation), special highway service, business park, and industrial zones—focusing on building height limits, parking, design guidelines and possible overlay uses.
The Payson Planning Commission held a work session on April 7 to continue review of nonresidential zoning districts and related overlay topics, focusing discussion on height limits, parking in the downtown central commercial area, a proposed Commercial Arts and Preservation (CAP) zone and design guidelines for commercial corridors.
Staff opened the session by saying the commission would cover the remaining districts and show maps and appendices for review. Commissioners raised repeated questions about the wording and intent of the professional office zone, asking whether it was intended primarily for medical uses and whether the 35-foot height limit—equivalent to roughly two commercial stories—would be appropriate for hospitals or other taller commercial buildings. Commissioners observed that many commercial buildings and institutional uses (hotels, hospitals, power plant structures and silos) can exceed 35 feet and suggested allowing greater heights where buildings meet fire-code and accessibility requirements.
Commissioners and staff discussed central commercial area concerns, with several participants identifying downtown parking constraints and the close building spacing that limits on-site parking. A resident, Sarah Ogden, said she "really love[s] the multi-story parking garages in Downtown Provo" as one approach, while commissioners noted underground parking and shared city-owned lots as options, and suggested updating design guidelines and considering incentives or density bonuses for developers who provide structured parking or better streetscape design.
The commission reviewed the purpose statement for the CAP (Commercial Arts and Preservation) zone, noting it seeks to balance historic preservation and viable commercial activity and could enable reduced parking requirements or unlock historic preservation funding sources. Commissioners said that if the city adopts the CAP zone it should identify an appropriate geographic area for it and define how strict preservation rules would be (e.g., façade-only vs. full preservation), and that zones can be changed later if needed.
Other topics included the special highway service zone—intended for interchange-oriented uses such as hotels, big-box retail and gas stations—the business park zone (aimed at office/showroom/tech uses and prohibiting outdoor storage), and light and heavy industrial distinctions where heavy industrial is limited and clustered around existing facilities. Commissioners also discussed potential annexation areas and the location of a future interchange north of the city, and the effect that could have on zoning and business-park siting.
Staff told commissioners the next meeting would include overlay zones and the appendix of permitted uses for further discussion; commissioners flagged items they want staff to research, including aligning height limits with fire-code provisions and exploring design-guideline updates for central commercial and commercial corridors.
