Pleasant View Council adopts general plan amendment for 30.6-acre hillside after debate over road, water and notice

Pleasant View City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, voted unanimously to adopt a general plan amendment to reclassify about 30.6 acres at approximately 540 West and 43100 North from Rural Residential 5 (A5) to Rural Residential 2 (A2). The change reduces the target lot size density from “0–1 unit per 5 acres” to “0–1 unit per 2 acres,” a move council members said could enable a developer to meet a legal test for requiring roadway improvements tied to the proposal.

Council members and staff framed the vote as a procedural step to resolve a conflict between the city’s road master plan and the density shown in the applicant’s concept. Amy, the city administrator, told the council that legal advice applied the Nollan/Dolan exaction standard — a Supreme Court framework comparing the public improvement sought to the impact created by a development — and that lowering density to an A2 classification was one of the administrative options likely to allow the city to require a roadway exaction tied to the project.

The amendment drew extensive public comment. Several residents urged the council to delay the change and pursue a broader general plan update and additional public outreach. Concerns focused on the hillside’s role as a groundwater recharge area and on the age and local applicability of the city’s…