Planning commission unanimously recommends development agreement to raise Echelon project height to accommodate viable commercial ground floor

The Roy City Planning Commission on March 11 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve a development agreement with Sunset Builders for the Echelon mixed-use project at 5902 South 1900 West so the project can increase its allowable overall building height to permit viable commercial ground-floor space.

Staff said the Echelon project — a mixed-use building just south of Les Schwab — has changed ownership and design several times and that current developers need additional vertical clearance to make the ground-floor commercial spaces feasible without substantially increasing construction costs. Planning staff told commissioners the project as currently approved can build to 40 feet (four stories), but engineering and mechanical requirements for retail spaces often require taller first floors; staff said the extra height the applicant seeks (staff discussed a practical need of roughly 47–48 feet and characterized the DA as seeking a raised limit consistent with the previously discussed story-based mapping) reduces construction complexity and avoids substantial added cost.

Community Development Director Brodie Flynn (Assistant City Manager) and staff explained the development agreement is being considered “out of an abundance of caution”: if the City Council adopts the commission-recommended text change to Title 10, Chapter 13 next week the development agreement would become unnecessary; if the code change stalls or is amended by council, the project-specific development agreement would allow the Echelon project to proceed with the additional height without delay.

At the public hearing, resident Kevin Homer said he supported mixed use but recommended tabling a project-specific exception if the council passes the text amendment next week: “If the First Amendment does not pass, then I think an extended time for discussion about this one on the Echelon project should happen,” Homer said, arguing the development agreement should be reconsidered only after council action. Henry de Virona, who identified himself as representing the Echelon project, asked staff whether the development agreement would automatically update if the commission’s recommended code change is later adopted by council; staff replied the DA is a separate, cautious path — if the text amendment passes the DA will not be necessary; if the text amendment does not pass and the DA is approved the project can build to the increased height under the DA.

Commission discussion returned to affordability: commissioners and staff noted that higher construction costs for projects with low clearances can push rents up and that allowing adequate first-floor height can help make mixed-use projects economically viable. Staff said constraining ground-floor height often forces developers into more expensive structural solutions that add hundreds of thousands to the project price (staff estimated ranges from several hundred thousand up to roughly one million dollars in extra cost depending on structural changes). Staff also reminded commissioners that whether a project will be rental or for-sale is not a permissible basis for approval or denial because using that factor in a discretionary decision can invite litigation.

A motion was made and seconded to recommend City Council approve the development agreement to allow the Echelon project to increase its permitted overall building height (the motion text as read at the meeting sought an increase consistent with the commission and staff discussion); the motion passed unanimously on roll call. The commission’s recommendation will be considered by City Council at its next meeting.