Planning commission approves 27-unit Anderson Development townhome project with facade and parking conditions

The Midvale City Planning Commission approved a small-scale master plan and a preliminary subdivision allowing individual ownership of a proposed 27-unit townhome development at 6766 South 300 East, granting incentives for reduced setbacks and private-street design while adding conditions that several public-facing units meet the city’s facade masonry standards.

Staff introduced the Anderson Development LLC application as a small-scale master-plan request for 27 units on four existing parcels in the SF-1 duplex-overlay zone. Planners reported the proposal provides 18% improved common space (minimum requirement 15%) and 51% total open space (code minimum 50%). The applicant requested incentives available under the master-plan provisions to reduce interior setbacks (from 8 feet to 6 feet between buildings) and to permit a private street (the developer’s design shows a 41-foot-wide private road; 50 feet is required for a public right-of-way).

Architectural compliance was a focal point. The ordinance requires a minimum of 60% masonry-equivalent coverage on front facades and 40% on side facades. The developer’s elevations showed 83% masonry on fronts but only 23% on sides. The applicant sought a reduction for side facades while increasing the front masonry coverage. Commissioners and residents expressed concern about blank side walls visible from adjacent public streets and properties.

Neighbors raised a wide range of issues during the public hearing: on-street parking overflow, traffic speeds and safety on nearby residential streets (including requests to pursue traffic-calming measures), proximity of new units to existing backyards and garages, construction dust and concrete-washout handling, the location and operation of stormwater detention/sump areas, and the amount of on-site green space for children.

The developer, Adam Anderson of Anderson Development, and Brighton Homes representative Sean Poor described design choices intended to address those concerns: 2-car garages plus 20-foot driveways (reported as providing a total of 108 off-street parking stalls across the subdivision), a 41-foot private street to accommodate on-street parking without obstructing emergency access, low-impact development (LID) stormwater measures, a third-party SWPPP inspection program (Ascenta) for concrete washout and erosion control, and a 6-foot vinyl fence around the perimeter. The developer said he had an NOI permit and SWPPP materials under review.

After discussion, the commission approved the small-scale master plan and the preliminary subdivision. The motion approving the master-plan incentives granted a reduction to the cited municipal code section and approved incentives MMC 17.7.0.19 d (items 3 and 4) but required enhanced masonry (to meet current code) on the exterior-facing side facades of four identified corner lots (lots 1, 5, 11 and 15). The preliminary subdivision to create individual ownership of the 27 units was also approved; both votes passed on roll call (Chair Erickson — yes; Vice Chair Anderson — yes; Commissioner Snow — yes; Commissioner Lidke — yes; Commissioner Tippett — yes).

Commissioners and staff encouraged neighbors concerned about off-site traffic and speeding to pursue traffic-calming measures through the city’s traffic-control committee and to contact their council representative. Several commissioners indicated the facade condition could be enforced at final plan review rather than by granting a blanket variance.

Votes at a glance - Small-scale master plan (27-unit townhome, 6766 South 300 East) — Approved (5–0). Conditions: Units 1, 5, 11, 15 must meet side-facade masonry requirements; incentives granted per staff motion. - Preliminary subdivision (27 units at same address) — Approved (5–0).