Cottonwood Heights ARC approves South Valley Unitarian parking redesign with condition to add street trees

The Cottonwood Heights Architecture Review Commission on Aug. 28 approved a conditional site-plan revision for South Valley Unitarian’s parking lot at 6876 South Highland Drive, requiring the applicant to submit a detailed landscape plan and provide street trees along the Highland Drive frontage.

City planning staff summarized the request as a replacement of a roughly 45-year-old parking lot and a reconfiguration intended to improve circulation, bring the lot into ADA compliance, add stormwater retention and replace turf with native, water-wise landscaping. The planner (Speaker 1) told commissioners staff recommended conditional approval subject to a final landscape plan and compliance with Gateway overlay and city landscape standards.

Commissioners focused much of the discussion on frontage treatment along Highland Drive, whether stalls should be angled or 90 degrees, and how to preserve long-term opportunities for a future 12-foot pedestrian/path improvement the city has discussed. Commissioner (Speaker 5) framed the Gateway District review as an opportunity to “address issues of people coming into the city” and urged tree planting along the frontage.

The applicant’s representative (Speaker 2) described financial constraints, saying, “it’s taken us 3 years to raise $240,000 to do this whole thing,” and emphasized the congregation prioritized replacing failing asphalt and addressing immediate safety and circulation problems. Commissioners and staff discussed options that would allow the church to complete the project now while enabling future city work to add a wider path and street trees.

Chair (Speaker 4) and other commissioners recommended that the applicant install sleeves or conduits during repaving to make future irrigation and water-line connections easier; the chair recommended “2 or 3 sleeves, 1 4-inch sleeve and 1 or 2 2-inch sleeves” so the city or a future contractor can run irrigation lines without re-cutting pavement. Commissioners also discussed the location of an existing power pole and the potential loss of two spaces if the parking is shifted.

The motion to approve (moved by Commissioner/Speaker 5, seconded by Commissioner/Speaker 3) required that the applicant submit a detailed landscape plan showing street trees along Highland Drive and coordinate irrigation and tree spacing with city staff and city engineering. The commission approved the motion by voice vote; the chair recorded the vote as unanimous.

Next steps: the applicant must return a detailed landscape plan for staff/chair approval as part of building- and parking-lot review; staff indicated the building information review process will perform the technical check and the chair may approve the landscape plan by email when it meets city standards.