Commission recommends denial unless conditions for Peggy Case event-center zone change; concept plan continued for conditional-use review

The Provo Planning Commission voted unanimously to forward a negative recommendation to the municipal council on a proposed zone map amendment that would change 2087 West Center Street from R1-8 (one-family residential) to CG (general commercial) to establish an event center in an accessory building and a short-term rental in the front house.

Commissioners said they supported the concept of a neighborhood-serving event space but were not comfortable approving an open-ended change to a general commercial zone without specific protections for adjacent single-family properties. The motion that passed asks the City Council to deny the rezone request unless the applicant meets a set of conditions the commission specified. Those conditions include limitations on the number of guests, limits on hours of operation and sound levels, a written commitment prohibiting alcohol on the premises, and a requirement that the use be limited to existing structures and to the event/short-term-rental uses presented to the commission.

Staff presentation and request to continue concept plan: Aaron Ardmore, planning staff, described the zoning and the conditional-use process. He told commissioners the CG zone allows a wide range of commercial uses by right and that staff was concerned about the breadth of permitted uses if the map amendment were approved without limits. Ardmore recommended that the concept-plan application be continued and that detailed standards such as parking, occupancy and lot-level controls be addressed through a conditional-use permit process rather than via an immediate concept-plan approval.

Applicant presentation: Peggy Case, the property owner, told commissioners she has hosted family events at the property and wants to legalize the arrangement to permit small weddings, classes and similar gatherings. Case said she typically limits events to about 60 cars, requires cleanup by 9:30 p.m. and would not allow alcohol. She told the commission she had canvassed nearby neighbors and asked staff to consider the site as a buffer between existing commercial uses on Center Street and nearby single-family homes.

Public comment and concerns: Multiple neighbors spoke in opposition, citing potential changes to neighborhood character, parking pressure and precedent for subdividing lots into smaller commercial parcels. The commission also received a written letter from a nearby resident and an oral comment from a Family Dollar manager asking that event parking not spill into the store's lot.

Action taken: The commission voted unanimously to forward a negative recommendation to the City Council on the zone map amendment unless the applicant provides the specified limits. Separately, the commission unanimously voted to continue the concept-plan item and instructed staff to work with the applicant to pursue the conditional-use permit process where specific operational conditions (parking counts, hours, occupancy and noise limits) can be codified and enforced.

What’s next: The negative recommendation and the list of conditions will be included in the staff report to City Council. The applicant may work with staff to proffer a development agreement and to prepare a conditional-use permit application. If the council approves a zone change with restrictions via a development agreement or the applicant secures a conditional-use permit that contains the agreed limits, the council could then authorize the proposed event use under the stated constraints.