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Pleasant Grove planning commission backs new method for measuring building height, sends amendment to city council
Summary
After a public hearing, the Pleasant Grove Planning Commission voted to recommend that the city council adopt a code change to measure building height using the average of original and finished grades; the 4–3 vote followed testimony from developers and nearby lot owners about aesthetics, fill and potential grandfathering concerns.
The Pleasant Grove Planning Commission on Jan. 8 voted 4–3 to recommend that the City Council amend section 10-6-2 of the municipal code to change how building height is measured.
City planner Daniel presented the proposal, a continued item from an earlier meeting, explaining staff’s preferred approach: "what staff is proposing is that we measure now between the natural grade or the original grade and the proposed finished grade, we find the average, and then we measure from there." Staff said the change would apply to future building permits if adopted by the council.
The amendment responds to complaints from neighbors who say newly built homes can appear overly tall when lots have differing topography. Developers and their representatives opposed the change in testimony, saying visual perception is subjective and raising practical concerns. One industry representative argued "the ordinance remains unchanged" would be preferable and requested that plats recorded before any amendment be excluded to avoid disrupting contracts and plans.
A Sienna Heights lot owner, McKay Quinn, told commissioners she bought in the subdivision because of the neighborhood’s design and said the amendment could "limit how the homes around me would look and... affect home values." Commissioners and staff discussed technical details raised at the hearing, including sample roof pitches (10/12 and 4/12), typical floor heights (basement 8–9 feet, main floor 9 feet, upper floor ~10 feet), lot sizes (about one-third acre), and cul-de-sac grades (a center grade near 0.5 percent and up to 1–2 percent in the bulb).
Staff clarified that plats are vested at subdivision approval and that building permits are the stage when structural code and height take effect; the planning commission has the authority only to forward a recommendation to the council and cannot itself grant legal nonconforming (grandfathering) status.
The commission’s roll call on the motion to recommend approval recorded Ayes from Commissioners Nelson, Trickler, Martineau and Redding; Nays from Commissioners Patton, Butler and Shirley. The formal recommendation advances the draft amendment to the City Council, which will take the final vote.
Next steps: the item will appear before the Pleasant Grove City Council for final action; if adopted, the amendment would change how staff measures height on future building-permit applications.
