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Council tables proposed zoning overhaul after residents and planners raise questions about setbacks and waivers
Summary
Councilors heard a detailed presentation on consolidated zoning Chapter 19.24, including a proposed 20-foot front setback measured from the edge of the public right-of-way along Emigration Canyon Road. After extended public comment and questions about measurement, nonconforming status and cross-references elsewhere in code, the council voted to table the ordinance for edits and more detail.
The Emigration Canyon City Council paused consideration of a consolidated zoning ordinance (proposed Chapter 19.24) after extensive public comment and council questions about how changes would be measured and enforced.
What staff proposed: Planning staff said the new chapter consolidates older county-derived rules, clarifies permitted and conditional uses, and mostly preserves existing standards. The principal new rule flagged by staff is a 20-foot setback from Emigration Canyon Road (the ordinance would otherwise retain existing setbacks elsewhere). The draft also reclassified several uses: it would eliminate short-term rentals (defined in staff comments as stays of 30 days or less), move some commercial uses out of forestry zones, and shift certain conditional-permitted classifications.
Public and council concerns: Residents and council members raised concerns that measuring setbacks from the legal edge of the right-of-way (a legal, mapped boundary, not necessarily the paved edge) could make many existing homes "nonconforming" and complicate rebuilding after fire or damage. Several speakers noted that right-of-way lines vary along canyon lots and that surveys may be necessary to determine exact lines. Council members and residents asked for clearer cross-references to other code chapters where use standards, wildfire mitigation, wastewater, and subdivision rules appear.
Waivers vs. variances: The draft would move waiver-approval authority from staff to the Planning Commission, creating a public hearing process for setback waivers. Staff explained the planning commission’s waiver standard includes public-safety and neighbor-impact considerations (snow storage, drainage, access, septic viability, traffic safety, view corridors). Staff said the city’s existing nonconforming-use chapter is permissive and allows rebuilding under many circumstances.
Council action: After sustained discussion requesting more detail and clearer cross-references to specific use standards, a council member moved and the council voted to table the ordinance for further edits and for staff to return with clarifications. The council encouraged residents to submit written comments for the next packet.
Provenance: the full ordinance presentation, use-table changes and discussion are recorded in the meeting transcript; the table motion and vote conclude the discussion.
