Council reopens Cafe Galleria parking lease amid concerns about residential impacts and precedent

Councilmember Jeff restated a clarified motion to lease 20 parking stalls "around the town square, north of Cafe Galleria," and to prohibit leasing or creating parking south of the business in the city right-of-way.

The councilmember said the clarification was needed because the city had since created seven stalls south of Cafe Galleria that he said conflicted with adjacent residential uses. "Creating parking in the city right of way adjacent to existing residential and agricultural uses negatively impacts those properties," Jeff said during the discussion.

Why it matters: Councilmembers debated whether city-created right-of-way parking sets a precedent that could allow future conversion of green space or residential front yards to commercial parking elsewhere in Midway's commercial zones. Supporters of limiting parking said the moves would protect older homes, barns and residential neighborhoods near several commercial corridors; opponents and staff cited public-safety reasons for the temporary stalls already installed and noted the need to evaluate trade-offs.

In the meeting, speakers reviewed the parking math used to comply with the business's code-required stalls. Staff said Cafe Galleria currently counts nine stalls in the post-office lot toward its 19-stall requirement; the motion would allow leasing 20 stalls in total (10 to meet the required 19 and 10 additional stalls the business requested), provided those leased stalls are north of Main Street.

Council discussion highlighted several neighborhoods and properties councilmembers said could be affected if the city-wide practice of creating right-of-way parking near commercial conversions continues. Councilmember Jeff pointed to multiple locations around Midway where commercial zoning abuts existing residential uses and warned that creating right-of-way stalls could be repeated in those places. He urged that the city preserve green areas and the character of historic properties as older homes transition to commercial use.

City staff and councilmembers also confirmed that some areas identified on staff maps are UDOT roads and that not every location the council discussed is city right-of-way. Staff said the seven stalls created south of Cafe Galleria were installed in response to staff safety concerns and because of ambiguity about whether the earlier motion intended to permit new right-of-way stalls there.

No final vote on Councilmember Jeff's clarified motion appears in the transcript. Councilmembers and staff agreed to continue reviewing options. Staff said they were already exploring alternatives and that a more detailed set of findings and ordinance language could be brought back to planning commission and council for a formal decision.

Councilmember Jeff said his clarified motion, in full, was: "We approve leasing 20 parking stalls around the town square, north of Cafe Galleria, and not approve leasing or creating any parking south of the business in the right of way. The lease fee is based on the city's fee schedule as amended from time to time, and any parking spots that have been created by the city will be removed, and business owners and signage will direct parking to the least spots on the North Of Main Street." (motion restated; no recorded vote in the provided transcript.)

Next steps: The council asked staff to continue evaluating safety concerns, mapping which rights-of-way are city versus UDOT, and drafting clear language to prevent ambiguous outcomes in future parking lease approvals. No formal direction to remove the existing stalls was recorded at the meeting.