Moab planning commission approves special-exception for Dalton property at 72 N. 300 E.

The Moab Planning Commission on Feb. 2025 voted unanimously to approve Planning Resolution No. 04-2025, granting the Dalton family a special exception to the city's landscaping standards for property at 72 North 300 East.

The measure allows the Daltons to construct an accessory shop in the rear of a nonconforming parcel despite the property exceeding the code's required 30% front-yard landscaping (i.e., the 70/30 hard-surface/landscape ratio). The commission recorded the vote as 3-0 in favor.

Staff said the parcel is nonconforming and constrained by an existing structure and adjacent access way. Planning staff explained that two outstanding landscaping items (street trees and planting species lists) could be addressed through the building-permit deferred submittal process and that a fee-in-lieu would apply for street trees where there is no right-of-way area to plant them.

Applicant Sue Dalton described the history of the existing building and the reason for the request: "My name is Sue Dalton, and, we are needing this exemption because the building that currently is on the property is I mean, it was probably built in, I don't know, 19 forties, '19 fifties. I don't know. It's been there for as long as my husband can remember, and it was his dad's building. I don't even know when it was built, but it can't be moved." She added the family seeks to build a small shop in the backyard because trees and shade prevent garden plantings.

Commissioners said the practical constraints of the lot ' the building footprint close to the street and existing hardscape ' supported approval under the code's exception criteria related to practical difficulty and unnecessary hardship. Commissioners also noted the proposed shop conforms to other zoning setbacks and accessory-structure requirements.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve minutes of the Feb. 13, 2025 regular meeting: motion carried, 3-0. (Motion text: "I move to approve the minutes from 02/13/2025 regular meeting.")

- Motion to approve Planning Resolution No. 04-2025 (Dalton Landscaping special-exception): motion carried, 3-0. (Motion text recorded in the minutes.)

The commission considered three options: approve, table for further information, or deny. Staff provided a suggested motion in the packet and noted the file included the applicant's narrative and the sustainability division's review. With deferred-submittal mechanisms available for the outstanding landscaping details, the commission approved the exception and directed that remaining landscaping items be completed through the building-permit process.

The commission chair closed the item after the unanimous vote and moved on to other business.