Planning commission remands West Mountain Field House conditional-use request for stronger conditions on access, parking and utilities

The Payson City Planning Commission on Jan. 22 remanded a conditional-use permit request for the proposed West Mountain Field House back to staff, asking for additional work on conditions related to traffic, parking, utilities and fire protection before the commission takes a final land-use decision.

The request, filed by applicant Ariel Martinez, seeks a conditional use for a field house on property at 594 South 2400 West in the A5H (annexation holding) zone. Michael explained that field houses are a conditional use in the A5 zone and that the A5H designation requires a development proposal, a zone change or a specific plan to be removed. Staff recommended approval conditioned on (1) city council adoption of a development proposal to remove the A5H designation for the parcel, (2) completion of a parking study by a traffic engineer (to be reviewed by the city engineer), (3) site-plan and building-permit approvals and (4) any additional reasonable conditions the commission may impose.

Public commenters raised access and infrastructure concerns. "It's a danger. It's a hazard," Christy Metz told commissioners, citing the narrow road, limited sight distance and existing congestion at other recreational facilities and expressing concern about septic capacity, well water and lack of fire hydrants. Resident Fred Barber said neighbors were surprised by ongoing plan changes in the area and stressed that improvements to roads, sewer, water and fire protection should be coordinated with development.

Applicant Ariel Martinez said he and his team had been meeting with city departments and the fire district and had worked on the proposal for about a year: "we've been doing this for, I wanna say, close to a year now," Martinez said, and added the project team had met with the fire department and other departments to address technical requirements.

Commissioners discussed whether the proposed use was consistent with the Spring Creek specific area plan and whether approving the conditional use in the A5H would create a permanent "spot" of different zoning. Michael said state law has changed the way spot zoning is treated and described A5H removal options; staff noted the council would likely consider a development-proposal adoption that would remove the A5H designation at an upcoming council meeting. Commissioners asked staff to bring suggested conditions back to the commission; suggestions discussed included limiting hours of operation, requiring shielded lighting, requiring an engineered parking study, and requiring applicant-funded improvements for roadway impacts in front of the property where those impacts are attributable to the development.

After discussion, a motion to remand the application back to staff for additional work on conditions was made and seconded. The commission voted in favor of remanding the item to staff; staff will return the application with refined, condition-specific language and technical input from engineering and fire staff. The remand means the commission did not grant the conditional-use permit at this meeting; the applicant must follow up with site-plan engineering and secure any development-proposal action by city council before a final land-use action can occur.

Next steps: staff will coordinate with the applicant, the city engineer and the fire department to develop a specific list of conditions (including a parking study by a licensed traffic engineer) and will return the item to the planning commission for a final decision. The city council is scheduled to consider the development-proposal adoption in early March.