Planning commission approves Stringtown Station site plan with conditions after neighbor raises drainage concerns

The Linden City Planning Commission on March 11 approved a site plan for Stringtown Station, an eight-unit office-warehouse building at about 40 North Geneva Road, with conditions including parcel consolidation, final engineering sign-off and a landscaped frontage reduced to 15 feet.

City planning staff presented changes the applicant, Bill Fairbanks, made after an earlier review, saying the project remains an eight-unit, roughly 27,000-square-foot office-warehouse building and that the applicant agreed to increase the sidewalk width to 6 feet, add a project monument sign and provide additional landscaping in other areas along Geneva Road. "They adjusted where the building rests compared to the last one," staff said, and staff added landscaping-plan requirements as conditions of approval.

The commission placed particular conditions on final approvals and infrastructure. The motion approved by the commission requires, among other items, that the three parcels be consolidated before final site plan approval; that final engineering corrections be completed with the city engineer; that plans comply with Linden City development specifications and Title 17 of the city code; that a 20-foot landscape strip along Geneva Road be reduced to 15 feet for this site; and that a sidewalk easement be provided where the sidewalk is routed around power poles. The full set of conditions listed in the motion was read into the record and included the requirement that a landscape plan be submitted showing vegetation percentages and interior landscaping.

A nearby property owner, Brian Richardson, who said he owns the property just east of the site adjacent to the railroad tracks, told the commission he is "concerned that my railroad tracks will just become a natural river" if the site is built up, citing historic wet conditions and drainage that flows across adjacent property. The applicant responded with planned drainage measures: "It is our intention down to the footing level to put a perforated pipe along the whole back of the building and then cover that with gravel ... and then it would go under the building and out to the detention basin which would be out along the front, of the sidewalk," the applicant said, adding that the design will channel water to Geneva Road.

Commissioners and staff also discussed sidewalk alignment with neighboring properties and coordination with UDOT requirements for a 6-foot sidewalk adjacent to the curb. Staff said the city measures landscaping at the back of sidewalk and that, because no current UDOT plan will expand Geneva Road in this section in the near term, staff judged 15 feet of landscaping adequate for this location. The applicant said interior landscaping islands were omitted in part to ease snow removal and maintenance in winter.

The motion approved by the commission included the following conditions (as read into the record): 1) the three parcels will be consolidated into one parcel prior to final site plan approval; 2) the applicant will continue to work with the city engineer to make all final corrections to the engineering plans; 3) plans will meet zoning and development specifications as found in the Linden City development manual; 4) if required, complete or post an adequate improvement completion assurance warrant and post required warranty assurance for all required public infrastructure improvements; 5) final building and site design will meet the requirements of the light industrial zone and applicable development requirements as found in Title 17 of the Linden City code; 6) the site will meet landscape requirements with a reduction to the 20-foot landscape strip to 15 feet along Geneva Road; 7) a landscape plan will be submitted with calculations for vegetation percentages and interior landscaping; 8) a sidewalk easement will be provided for those areas where the sidewalk goes around the power poles; 9) a licensing agreement to be approved and signed for use of the city parcel (recorded in the motion as parcel number 14:065:0057); 10) city staff will review the final landscape plan for compliance; and 11) all items of the staff report will be addressed.

After public comment and discussion, the commission voted "Aye" and the motion carried unanimously. Staff said city engineers will review final plans for drainage and other infrastructure concerns raised during the meeting.

What happens next: the applicant must submit the required landscape plan and engineering corrections, execute required agreements with the city and record the consolidated parcel before final site plan sign-off. The commission’s action approves the site plan with the listed conditions; it does not authorize separate building permits or the monument sign, which will require separate permits.