Planning commissioners review Cottonwood Compounding pharmacy conditional-use request at 7076 S. Highland Drive

The Cottonwood Heights Planning Commission reviewed a staff recommendation to approve a conditional-use permit for Cottonwood Compounding Pharmacy at 7076 South Highland Drive during the April 16, 2025 work session.

City planning staff told the commission the applicant plans to operate Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and occupies a roughly 3,100-square-foot suite in an existing two-story office building. The business currently operates at a parcel immediately north of the subject property and would undertake interior renovations for the pharmacy conversion and pursue a façade remodel; an Architectural Review Committee certificate of design compliance application for exterior materials and colors was scheduled for the following week.

Staff said the commercial regional (CR) zone lists drugstores as a conditional use and treated the compounding pharmacy as analogous to a drugstore. Using the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Parking Generation manual, staff calculated a parking requirement of eight stalls for the proposed pharmacy. The property’s lot contains 30 parking stalls, including three ADA spaces, and staff concluded the proposal met minimum parking requirements and did not require a traffic impact study. The previous salon use required 10 stalls, so the projected parking demand for the pharmacy is lower by the ITE standard used, staff said.

Commissioners questioned how vehicle demand would interact with an occupied Pilates studio on the second floor and with employees (staff reported the business has about 15 employees) and asked whether customers would primarily pick up medication in person. Staff said the applicant’s narrative indicates 20–30 in-person customers per day but that most clients receive medications by mail, and that not all employees are on-site simultaneously. Commissioners also asked whether the planned façade changes would trigger further review; staff confirmed the façade remodeling is subject to ARC review but no major site changes were proposed.

The application was noticed consistent with city policy (mailers to property owners within 300 feet, notice sent 10 days prior) and staff reported receiving no public comments. Staff presented findings of fact in the packet and recommended approval without additional conditions. The commission did not take formal action on the request at the work session; staff invited the applicant to appear at the public hearing scheduled for the regular meeting that evening in the larger council chamber to answer commission questions.

Details in the staff packet: proposed hours 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday; approximately 15 employees; applicant-stated in-person customers about 20–30 per day; building parking supply 30 stalls (3 ADA); ITE-derived minimum parking requirement 8 stalls for the proposed use.