Planning commission approves 17 townhomes at former CenturyLink site on 350 W. California Drive

The Midvale Planning Commission on a unanimous 5–0 vote approved a conditional use permit and preliminary subdivision for a 17-unit townhome development at 350 West California Drive, the former CenturyLink site. The developer represented the project at the April public hearing and commissioners said staff findings supported approval.

The project was presented by planning staff Adam (planning staff), who said the applicant proposes three-story, for-sale townhomes in the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zone. "They're meeting and exceeding the parking requirement," Adam said in his presentation and described the project as coming in under the TOD density maximum. He told commissioners the code allows up to 25 units per acre and the proposal calculates to about 21 units per acre under the staff analysis.

The developer, Paul Randstrom, representing Brad Reynolds Construction, told the commission the units are intended to be owner-occupied and marketed as "reasonably affordable" for purchase. "Our objective was to provide a reasonably affordable home that's for sale," Randstrom said. He added the exterior materials will be fiber cement siding rather than stucco.

Why it matters: the property sits next to an established single-family neighborhood and an existing apartment complex; neighbors said the three-story buildings,…