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Council approves lower minimum parcel sizes for select multifamily zones with conditions
Summary
After extended debate the Riverton City Council voted to amend multifamily minimum parcel size standards, lowering some thresholds while removing the most permissive proposed minimums. Council directed staff to return refined materials in subsequent steps.
The Riverton City Council voted to amend the city code that sets minimum parcel sizes for multifamily zoning after extended discussion about infill, infrastructure and neighborhood impacts.
Motion and outcome: Councilmember McDougall moved to approve Ordinance 25-13 with changes; Councilmember Broker seconded. The motion set the minimum lot size for RM4/RM18 categories at a 3-acre minimum in the updated text and removed the planning commission’s proposed 0.8-acre minimum for major roads. Councilors recorded affirmative votes during a roll call; the motion carried.
What the change does: The ordinance as approved reduces certain minimum parcel requirements that previously made small multifamily proposals difficult to file. Councilmembers and staff emphasized the change does not automatically rezone property: “It simply says we won’t accept an application for property if it is below that minimum,” planning staff told the council. Any rezoning would remain subject to general-plan consistency and the normal rezone and public-review process.
Council debate and reasoning: Councilmembers said the changes are intended to provide the city and developers more flexibility to consider infill projects and to allow applications that otherwise could not be filed. Councilmember Broker said she favored a cautious approach and proposed an alternate minimum; the final motion adopted a compromise that raised several minimums to three acres and removed the most permissive 0.8-acre threshold that councilors saw as creating a risk of piecemeal development.
Concerns raised: Multiple councilmembers warned about parking spillover to adjacent neighborhoods, UDOT driveway and access constraints along major corridors, and the visual impacts of numerous small parcel developments. Councilmember McDougall and others asked staff to monitor potential impacts on streets and to coordinate with UDOT where state right-of-way and driveway spacing rules might restrict projects.
Next steps: The approved text will be incorporated into the municipal code and applied when developers submit applications. Staff said the changes allow more applications to be filed but do not compel council approval of individual projects; any rezone would still go through public hearings and discretionary review.
Sources and evidence: Council discussion, planning-staff explanation of application thresholds, and the recorded motion and roll-call vote during the meeting.
