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Commission recommends rezone and general‑plan change for 963 S. 2000 W.; neighbors press for lower density and mitigation
Summary
The Planning Commission recommended city council approval of a developer’s request to change 12.83 acres at 963 South 2000 West from civic to low‑density residential and to rezone to R3; neighbors raised concerns about possible future fire station noise, road widening and home‑height impacts, and asked whether R2 would better preserve neighborhood character.
Syracuse Planning Commission members recommended that City Council approve a general‑plan amendment and rezone for roughly 12.83 acres at 963 South 2000 West, a parcel the school district previously held.
Planning staff said the district purchased the site for an elementary school, later determined it was surplus to district needs, and the applicant (Cole West) has applied to change the property’s general plan designation from civic to low‑density residential and to rezone the site from A1 to R3. Staff explained R3 is a single‑family zone with an 8,000‑square‑foot minimum lot and an 80‑foot minimum lot width; R2 requires a 10,000‑square‑foot minimum. Staff also noted a draft development agreement that would commit the developer to preserve a large tree on the site and to coordinate with the city on land needed for a future fire station.
Several neighbors spoke during the public hearing. Wayne Taylor, whose backyard borders the property, asked whether there are sound‑mitigation options to limit siren noise should the city build a fire station nearby. Dean Krager and Andrew Lane raised questions about road widening, irrigation‑meter relocation costs, parking and construction traffic on a narrow street, and whether two‑story homes would overlook existing yards. Neighbors urged the commission to consider R2 for lower density; Taylor asked the developer to show what R2 would look like compared with R3.
Taylor Anderson, speaking for Cole West, said the developer’s economics favor R3 and that R3 lines up with adjacent R3 zoning to the south; he also said the developer plans to engage an arborist and include tree protections in the development agreement. On the fire station, Anderson said mitigation measures would be worked out later with the fire department.
A commissioner moved to recommend the rezone to R3 and the separate motion to recommend the general‑plan amendment; both recommendations passed and will be transmitted to City Council for final action.
