Ogden council approves Mount Lewis plan amendment and rezone to allow townhomes with 10‑year owner‑occupancy overlay

Ogden City Council on Oct. 21 approved a community-plan amendment and concurrent rezoning to allow for townhome development at 1514 North Washington Boulevard, following a planning commission recommendation and testimony from the applicant.

Planning manager Barton Brierley explained the request from Cooperstown Partners: the property at 1514 North Washington is currently designated R2 in the community plan; the applicant asked to change the community plan designation and rezone to R2S to permit single-family and two-family dwellings as well as subdivided townhouses for individual ownership. Staff noted R2S allows smaller lots—planning materials cited a minimum lot size of roughly 2,500 square feet per dwelling unit for the proposed product—intended to increase ownership opportunities.

Brierley said the proposal was consistent with nearby development patterns (townhomes across the street, ongoing multifamily development to the north and other non-single-family uses nearby) and that the planning commission recommended approval with a conditional overlay to guarantee owner occupancy of the townhomes for 10 years.

Rick Skadden, representing Cooperstown Partners, told the council the proposal had been under development for several years and described the concept as matching the surrounding character while offering for‑sale housing. Public comment included questions about utilities, road access and view-corridor protections; speaker Travis (surname) asked who would pay for water and other services where property crosses jurisdictional lines. Brierley responded that utility access, road connections and intergovernmental agreements would be addressed in the development review and during coordination with adjacent jurisdictions.

Council member Meyers moved to adopt proposed Ordinance 2025-30 amending the Mount Lewis community plan; Council member Graff seconded. The council approved the amendment by roll call vote. Council member Graff moved to adopt proposed Ordinance 2025-31 rezoning the parcels to R2S with a conditional overlay; Council member Ritchie seconded. The council approved the rezoning by roll call vote.

Council and staff remarked the conditional overlay and the 10‑year owner-occupancy requirement were intended to increase for-sale housing and address community concerns about transient ownership. Staff noted that this project will be reviewed through the standard development-review process and that utilities crossing into neighboring jurisdictions will require separate agreements.