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Council reviews draft general plan; debate centers on timing, form-based code and gravel-pit development
Summary
Consultant Sam Taylor briefed the council on a draft general plan update and schedule for public comment; council members pressed staff for more time, discussed whether form-based code should be citywide or limited to centers, and raised concerns about high-density designations for the gravel-pit/Union Boulevard area.
Landmark Design consultant Sam Taylor presented a draft Cottonwood Heights general plan update at the council work session on Sept. 16, saying the document is a high-level guide with required state elements and that staff intends to release a public draft for comment in October unless the council prefers a later schedule.
Taylor explained the plan’s role: it is an advisory document that sets a vision and does not itself rezone property. Required elements include land use, moderate-income housing, transportation and a new state-required water-use chapter. Taylor said the draft focuses future growth in established activity centers — the town center, Union Park and the gravel-pit area — and recommends further area or neighborhood-level planning for other places.
Council members and staff engaged in extended questioning. One council member noted the draft’s designation of the gravel-pit area as a regional center and said the draft's perspectives implied very high densities — the speaker referenced an outcome “as much as 28-story high buildings” — and asked whether that remains the city's direction. Taylor and staff responded that the general plan provides a vision and that specific tools (such as form-based code, zoning or other implementation mechanisms) would be selected later to implement any adopted vision.
Council members also debated process and timing. Some members asked for more time to review the draft and to coordinate it with other adopted master plans; others urged staying high-level and moving toward adoption to give staff a clear implementation guide. The consultant said the document can be adjusted and encouraged the council to identify key community goals first, then dive into land use and transportation chapters in upcoming meetings.
Council asked staff to post a draft to the shared document platform and to bring focused land-use discussions (town center, gravel pit, Union Park) to forthcoming meetings. Staff said a joint session with the planning commission is scheduled for Oct. 21 and that the project timeline can be adjusted to ensure meaningful council input before any public release.
No final action was taken; the session served to introduce the draft and identify chapters and priorities for more detailed council deliberation.
