West Jordan council approves residential overlay, city‑center housing rules and campaign‑finance penalty; several votes unanimous or near‑unanimous

At its Dec. 4, 2024 meeting the West Jordan City Council voted on several ordinance and policy items unrelated to Copper Meadows. The council approved each of the items below; votes and brief context follow.

Residential overlay for Redwood Road (Ordinance 24-55) — Passed 7–0 The council voted unanimously to amend the city’s general‑plan future land‑use map to add a Residential Overlay District (ROD) designation for approximately 6.23 acres north of the Grace Company at 6676–6686 South Redwood Road. Staff said the change was needed to satisfy a state moderate‑income housing benchmark requiring the city to show areas where future rezoning could facilitate multifamily housing. Council member Green initiated and moved the ordinance and members approved it after discussion about removing the word “potential” from the map language; the council directed staff to use the cleaner label "Residential Overlay District." Council member comments and one supportive online speaker noted commercial uses in the area had not succeeded and that the overlay could provide new housing options if a compliant developer comes forward.

City‑center zoning: density and moderate‑income housing (Ordinance 24-54) — Passed 7–0 The council unanimously approved a targeted amendment to the City Center zone to make multifamily residential explicitly a permitted use in the code’s table of uses and to require that new residential projects include a minimum of 10% moderate‑income housing by unit count per building. Staff described the change as a “bare‑bones” amendment to meet a state benchmark while a broader rewrite of the City Center ordinance is pursued; the 10% figure was chosen to align with state funding qualification rules.

Campaign‑finance filing penalty (Ordinance 24-52) — Passed 5–1 Council members adopted an amendment to the municipal code that disqualifies a candidate who is more than 30 calendar days late in filing campaign‑finance reports from filing a declaration of candidacy for the next two municipal elections. The change replaces an earlier version that applied only to the next municipal election. Council member Whitelock sponsored the motion to adopt; Council member Lamb voted no. Mayor Burton commented he supports enforcing filing rules but considered the two‑cycle penalty stronger than necessary.

Council policies and procedures (Resolution 24-041) — Passed 6–0 The council adopted updates to its internal policies and procedures (the council “rules”), including a new chair/vice‑chair rotation schedule and the addition of an agenda style guide and item workflow appendices. The council kept a chair’s discretion to grant an extended five‑minute speaking period for a designated group representative; that provision had been proposed for deletion but was retained at the chair’s discretion after member discussion about resident access to the dais.

Other actions The consent calendar passed unanimously. The council also recessed into a closed session to discuss real‑property acquisition and then reconvened and adjourned later in the evening.

Next steps: Staff will effect the adopted ordinance changes by updating land‑use maps and city code where required and will proceed with implementation actions described in staff reports (for example, publishing the Residential Overlay District on the general‑plan map and preparing a fuller City Center ordinance rewrite).