Cottonwood Heights approves home‑based psychotherapy practice despite neighbor parking concerns

Cottonwood Heights Administrative Hearing Officer Jared Gerben approved a conditional‑use permit for a home‑based psychotherapy office at 7871 South Chadbourne Drive (CPD 25‑010) on Aug. 6, 2025, after planning staff recommended approval and neighbors raised parking and safety concerns.

Planning staff told the hearing the applicant, Laura Durant, proposes individual adult psychotherapy sessions on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m., with no more than five clients per business day. Sessions would occur one client at a time for about 50 minutes in a designated main‑floor room. Staff noted two off‑street parking spaces in the unit’s driveway and cited Municipal Code 19‑31‑20 governing home‑occupations; staff recommended approval with conditions, including maintaining an approved Cottonwood Heights business license, requiring customers to use provided parking and restricting on‑street parking for business use, subjecting the approval to review upon complaint, and permitting no more than one nonresident employee.

Neighbor Lydia Jones, who said she owns two units on the cul‑de‑sac, told the hearing “parking is a major problem,” describing an incident last month in which a tenant had to call law enforcement when a car blocked their vehicle. Jones asked what signage would be used and whether two driveway spaces would suffice for client parking. Laura Durant responded, “I will be parking in the garage, and then there's two spots in the driveway,” and said she had considered a small sign on the gate.

Jones also raised neighborhood history, saying a nearby unit had operated as a sober‑living facility for about seven years and that calls to law enforcement increased during that period; she asked that such concerns be on the record given the applicant’s website mentions counseling inmates. Planning staff and the hearing officer advised neighbors to confer directly and noted the city cannot dictate the applicant’s client roster. The hearing officer emphasized that the permit is subject to review upon complaint.

After discussion, Hearing Officer Jared Gerben said he agreed with staff’s recommended findings and conditions and moved to approve CPD 25‑010. He directed the applicant to coordinate with planning staff to obtain the required business license. The approval takes effect with the conditions outlined in the staff report; the permit may be revisited if complaints arise.

Next steps: the applicant must secure a Cottonwood Heights business license and follow the permit conditions; staff or neighbors may request a review under the complaint provision if issues develop.