Planning commission approves Rise Baking expansion; company to add employees and new production lines

The Pleasant View Planning Commission on Thursday recommended approval of a site-plan amendment for Rise Baking Company’s expansion at approximately 1400 West (near 2700 North).

Planning staff described the application as a permitted industrial/manufacturing use within the MP-1 zone and reported that the Development Review Committee (DRC) provided red-line corrections. Staff said the proposed amendment includes site changes, parking expansion and a traffic study requested of the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to evaluate two entrances and circulation on 2700 North.

Colin Bodecki, director of engineering for Rise Baking Company, told the commission the expansion will nearly double the facility’s footprint by adding roughly a 116 square-foot addition to an existing approximately 136,000-square-foot facility (as stated in the public presentation). He said the company anticipates adding production for pies (including an unbaked and baked pie line) and expects to add about 130 employees across its three shifts. Bodecki said total employment across direct and indirect positions is expected to be about 250 to 275 people when the expansion is complete.

Bodecki said the company plans to add about 96 new parking spaces, build an additional entrance from Rulon White to relieve traffic on 2700 North, complete a UDOT trip-generation study, and secure required state stormwater permits. He said Rise has applied for a long-term stormwater maintenance agreement with the city and that PacificCorp (parent company of Rocky Mountain Power) is completing an impact study for electric-service capacity. He also told the commission the company will invest roughly $22 million in the building and another $20 million in processing equipment — a combined investment the company described as approximately $40 million.

Bodecki said the expanded facility will include about 100,000 square feet of ambient (non-cooled) production space and about 16,000 square feet of additional cold-storage/cool storage; the existing facility includes a roughly 20,000-square-foot freezer. He said the company has met with the fire marshal about ammonia refrigeration and that the fire marshal has approved the plan. Bodecki said Rise has completed a county impact assessment and anticipates investing “probably about half a million to a million dollars” to upgrade its wastewater handling to meet treatment-plant requirements.

Commissioners and public commenters discussed truck staging and parking impacts on adjacent streets, particularly given the nearby Chick-fil-A development. A neighboring business owner urged “no truck parking” or posted truck-parking restrictions along the curb to reduce safety risks; commissioners noted the city has an ordinance prohibiting semitrailer parking on local streets but said enforcement is a separate matter.

Staff recommended approval of the site-plan amendment after DRC corrections and pending resolution of technical comments; the commission voted unanimously to approve the site-plan amendment with the staff and city engineer recommendations. Staff indicated that remaining technical items include DRC red-line corrections, UDOT traffic-study results, finalized stormwater long-term maintenance language with the city, and any building-permit-level engineering corrections.