Council narrows some neighborhood‑mix boundaries, agrees to allow cottage courts in single‑family zones

Bountiful City Councilors spent a significant portion of the Feb. 11 work session debating where to draw the line between single‑family residential and neighborhood‑mixed residential on the draft future land‑use map and whether to permit cottage courts in single‑family zones.

The council considered two competing priorities: preserving long‑standing single‑family streets and enabling modest additional housing types (duplexes, triplexes, small multifamily) where the built pattern already supports them. Planner Francisco Astorga reminded the council that place‑type language will later be implemented through zoning and specific development standards.

Two boundary adjustments emerged from the discussion. Councilmember Murray proposed, and the majority of council agreed, to designate a small area immediately east of the downtown zone — between Fourth North and Fifth South — as neighborhood‑mixed residential to reflect an existing concentration of duplexes, triplexes and small apartments. Murray told colleagues he had counted roughly 35 duplexes, triplexes and small apartment buildings in that block, a rationale staff and some council members found persuasive.

Separately, several council members pressed to preserve the character of a west‑side neighborhood (roughly north of Tenth North and west of Second West to the Centerville border) as single‑family residential. Multiple council members supported carving that area out of the neighborhood‑mixed designation, citing the predominance of single‑family starter homes and the desire to avoid conversion pressure. Francisco clarified the proposed west boundary and said staff will codify the precise blocks in the next map iteration.

On housing form, the council also agreed to allow cottage courts in the single‑family residential place type. Members said they expect implementation to include limits on lot size, parking, setbacks and other parameters, and directed staff to return code language and development standards for council and planning‑commission consideration. Several council members expressed the view that cottage courts should provide interior shared open space and maintain a “scale‑appropriate” character.

Context and next steps: Council members noted that neighborhood‑mixed residential language in the draft plan describes densities of roughly 8–10 dwelling units per acre as an illustrative baseline and that the place type may include multiple zoning designations depending on neighborhood character. The council’s boundary and policy directions tonight will be incorporated into the draft plan for the planning commission and public review; staff will draft implementing code changes for later review and hearings.

Decision type: The meeting produced council direction and general consensus on boundaries and cottage‑court policy; no ordinance or zoning amendment was adopted at the work session.