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Planning Commission denies PD overlay and concept plan for 19‑unit townhome proposal at 130 S. 2050 W.
Summary
After extended discussion of density, sewer capacity and neighborhood fit, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial of a requested PD overlay and the related concept plan for clustered townhomes at 130 South 2050 West, citing inconsistency with the adopted neighborhood plan and unresolved infrastructure and density issues.
The Provo City Planning Commission on March 26 recommended denying a proposed Performance Development (PD) overlay and associated concept plan that would have allowed clustered townhomes on roughly 3 acres at approximately 130 South 2050 West in the Provo Bay neighborhood.
Dustin Wright, Development Services planner, told the commission the property is currently zoned R-1.8 (single-family residential) and that the Southwest neighborhood plan guides the site toward a residential density of approximately three units per gross acre. The applicant proposed 19 townhomes originally, later reducing the request to 17. Wright said staff calculated a base conventional capacity of roughly 11 units on the site and noted the PD overlay could grant a 10% design bonus but that the applicant’s requested unit total substantially exceeded the plan’s anticipated density.
Applicant Steve Turley and project representatives argued the PD overlay would allow clustering of units, preservation of about 1.75 acres of contiguous open space and a lower sales price for townhomes (applicants cited an expected $450,000 price point) compared with detached single-family homes in the area. Turley also presented a proposed sewer solution for the West Side capacity constraint: a metered holding tank system that would store wastewater during peak demand and discharge during off-peak hours. He said engineers had proposed two tanks sized to provide roughly four days of storage as a contingency and that public works and state regulators had indicated such metered release is feasible.
Commissioners raised multiple concerns: whether the site should remain low-density single-family as shown in the neighborhood plan; whether a holding-tank approach is appropriate and scalable citywide; whether owner-occupancy (the applicant said sales prices would make rentals unlikely) could be assured; and whether the project had completed necessary technical review by CRC and public works. Several commissioners said neighborhood-level alternatives — for example detached homes with accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — could achieve similar unit counts while providing a higher assurance of owner occupancy and a better fit with surrounding development patterns.
After deliberation commissioners voted unanimously to recommend denial of both the requested zone map amendment (to apply an R-1.8 PD overlay) and the concept plan. Commissioners directed staff and the applicant to resolve outstanding engineering and public-works questions and suggested the applicant could return with revised proposals that more closely align with the adopted neighborhood plan and with completed CRC review.
Votes at a glance: The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the PD overlay rezone and denial of the concept plan on March 26, 2025.
Context: The applicant said three other residential projects in the vicinity are at different stages of approval; the applicant argued that overall sewer capacity is improved by other recent land-use changes but that local peak wastewater flows remain constrained. The applicant offered the holding-tank approach as a site-specific mitigation.
What’s next: The recommendation of denial will be transmitted to the City Council; the applicant may revise the proposal and return with additional infrastructure analysis or different housing configurations.
