Hooper planning panel approves office and bathroom in oversized shop amid questions about wholesale nursery use

The Hooper City Planning Commission on March 13 approved a conditional use permit allowing Tyler Larkin to add an office and restroom to an existing oversized structure at 6690 West 5100 South, but conditioned the approval on the property being in compliance with all applicable city and state ordinances.

The condition was added after prolonged discussion and public comment about the use of the site. Staff told the commission the oversized structure was built to code in the early 1990s and inspected in 2024; the applicant said the planned office and restroom are to serve workers and family on-site. City staff and legal counsel told the commission that approving the interior work would not authorize any use that is otherwise prohibited by zoning.

Commissioners and staff focused much of their questioning on whether the overall operation at the property constitutes a wholesale nursery, which Hooper code does not allow in the R-1 (residential) zone. City staff said an agricultural exemption had been filed on a separate parcel with greenhouses and that the current structure had an agricultural-only condition; staff and legal counsel advised the commission they could approve only the limited interior work and could place conditions requiring compliance with other ordinances before work proceeds.

Resident Wesley Flynn said he lives on the same road and raised concerns that the site functions as a wholesale business rather than purely agricultural use. “Why doesn't he have to improve his? He's got an open ditch. Why isn't he paying for improvements like I am?” Flynn said, adding concerns about shipping containers, truck traffic and use of culinary water for irrigation.

Larkin told the commission the operation primarily grows plants for landscapers and contractors, that pickups are often by pickup-and-trailer rather than large trucks, and that some 10-wheel trucks deliver material in busy seasons. He said the office and restroom were needed for billing and records and for his sister, who works on the site. He also said employees live at the house on the property and the restroom would avoid using the home interior for the work area.

Commissioner discussion emphasized that approving the bathroom and office did not constitute approval to operate a wholesale nursery in a residential zone. One commissioner suggested a condition that “none of the work can go forward until the applicant is in compliance with all city ordinances regarding that property.” Another commissioner noted the property’s prior agricultural exemption applied to the greenhouse parcel and not necessarily to the parcel with the house and shop.

The commission approved the motion to add the office and bathroom with the condition that the applicant be in compliance with all applicable city and state ordinances for the parcel. The motion was made by Commissioner Prince and seconded by Commissioner Greener.

Next steps noted by staff: code enforcement or permitting staff may follow up to determine whether any further action is needed to bring the site into compliance with land‑use rules if the use extends beyond what the parcel’s permits allow.