Roy Council narrows proposed downtown height increase to 10 stories; denies Echelon development agreement

Roy City Council on March 18 approved a change to the city's downtown zoning that replaces fixed height limits in feet with a stories-based standard and sets a 10-story cap for the eastern downtown zone after a lengthy debate about scale, market viability and resident preferences.

The council also rejected a separate development agreement from Sunset Builders for the Echelon project at 5902 South 1900 West that would have increased the project's allowable height. The denial was recorded 4-1.

City planner Brody told the council the change from feet to stories is intended to give developers flexibility to respond to modern construction approaches and market demands. "The height restriction really limits the kind of product that they can bring to the area," he said, arguing the stories approach lets developers adapt floor heights for commercial ground floors or taller amenity spaces.

Supporters, including the city's economic-development staff, said the change could attract projects that generate more property and sales tax revenue than currently feasible under the old standards. Council members in favor said the measure helps Roy compete for developers who said current limits make projects economically unworkable.

Opponents warned the move could allow buildings out of scale with neighborhoods and cited past survey results showing many residents preferred lower heights downtown. Councilmember Diane (surname not specified in the transcript) described the change as "a very big change" and urged balance between growth and resident expectations.

The planning commission had recommended allowing taller buildings (it proposed up to 12 stories in the eastern downtown subzone); council members negotiated a compromise to set that subzone's cap at 10 stories. Brody said the planning commission and staff retained other controls: building and fire code requirements, parking requirements and the development-review process would still apply.

The council's decision does not obligate any specific project to build to the new maximum; instead it changes the code that developers must meet and keeps development agreements and site plans subject to later review. The separate development agreement tied to the Echelon proposal was denied; council motion records show a 4-1 vote to deny that agreement.

Council members and staff noted the change can be revisited by ordinance in the future and that development agreements remain available for project-specific conditions.

The council's action alters Title 10, Chapter 13 (mixed-use building types) and will be incorporated into the zoning code language, replacing the previous feet-based limits with story-based maxima in the highlighted downtown subzones.

Looking forward, staff said developers who are actively reviewing Roy properties will now have clearer code parameters under which to propose site plans; any proposed projects will still require plan review and must meet building and fire codes.

Ending: The council moved forward with the code change as amended; the Echelon agreement failed. City staff said they will continue to process development proposals under the revised rules and that the council may revisit the code if adjustments are needed.