Bluffdale council approves fencing height change, HB476 code update and FY2025 budget adjustment

Bluffdale City Council on Nov. 13 approved three separate measures after staff presentations and public hearings that drew no public comment.

Ordinance 2024-24: fencing height text amendment Caitlin, planning staff, presented a text amendment allowing a preexisting home that changes orientation after subdivision to retain its prior side-yard designation and corresponding six-foot site-obscuring fence allowance where certain conditions are met. The Planning Commission reviewed and unanimously recommended the amendment. After a public hearing with no speakers, the council moved and unanimously approved Ordinance 2024-24 (roll-call recorded as all 'Yes').

Ordinance 2024-25: compliance with House Bill 476 Caitlin summarized code changes required by 2024 House Bill 476, including limits on when cities may require development agreements, new phasing and land-use application rules, restrictions on recording certain development documents on private property, enhanced timelines for subdivision review, and new notice requirements for water-wise landscaping. Council members discussed wording and suggested minor grammar and clarity edits in Section 12.30.040 to ensure references to "prior review by the city" and "substantive review" read correctly. With those text amendments included, the council opened and closed a public hearing with no speakers and unanimously approved Ordinance 2024-25.

Resolution 2024-73: FY2025 budget adjustment Finance staff presented a budget adjustment that included: $600,000 in road impact fees for the 1780 West Connector project (to cover unanticipated utility relocation costs), $18,000 from the Bluffdale Arts fund balance (about $8,000 for a portable stage purchase and $10,000 to enclose the park pavilion stage), an LBA bond payment (debt-service interest around $404,000 due in February), and $16,000 allocated for a public safety fee study split between fire and police. The council held a public hearing with no public comment and approved Resolution 2024-73 on a unanimous roll-call vote.

Local Building Authority action The Local Building Authority portion of the meeting approved LBA Resolution 2024-75 related to the public-works building bond payment/authority; trustees voted in favor on the recorded roll-call.

Votes and procedure All measures were approved after staff presentations and council discussion; the record shows unanimous recorded support in the roll-call votes as read aloud during the meeting. Public hearings for each item were opened and closed with no in-person or online comments recorded.

Next steps Staff will implement the adopted code changes and incorporate the budget adjustments into fiscal tracking. For Ordinance 2024-25, staff noted they would correct minor wording issues before finalizing the text. The ADU toolkit presentation (separate from the votes) remains in final review with a target January launch.