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Oak Hills homeowner seeks ADU; neighbors raise concerns about single-family character
Summary
Oak Hills residents questioned an owner’s permit request for a shop-plus-one-bedroom accessory dwelling unit (ADU); the owner said the unit is intended as long-term family housing, not for short-term rental. The application will go next to the planning commission and then city council for public hearings.
Amber Eliason, the applicant, described plans for a shop and a one-bedroom accessory dwelling unit behind her Oak Hills home and said the ADU is intended as a long-term family landing pad rather than a rental. "I love Provo," Eliason said while introducing herself and explaining the lot layout and proposed privacy landscaping. She told the neighborhood she had obtained four of the five required bordering-neighbor signatures and that the ADU would not exceed the height of the existing house.
Neighbors voiced two central concerns. One neighbor said exceptions in single-family zones "open the door" to higher density and change the character of the neighborhood; that neighbor (who did not give a full name at the meeting) listed single-family character and privacy as reasons to oppose an exception. Amber Eliason replied she had no present intention to rent the unit and described measures she plans to take — tree screening and replacing a shared fence — to reduce privacy impacts.
City staff clarified how ADU rules apply in Provo: Malia, a policy analyst in the council office, and Erin Ardmore from planning said ADUs are generally allowed west of I-15 by right in most residential zones, while areas east of I-15 require zone-specific allowances or parcel-specific code amendments. The presenters emphasized that, under recent code changes, ADUs require owner-occupancy (all title-holders on the property must live there) and that about 30 grandfathered special-use permits east of I-15 do not run with the land.
The board reiterated that this discussion is a neighborhood hearing and that the formal land-use process continues: the Oak Hills application will go to the planning commission for a public hearing and then to city council. Staff provided contacts for additional questions (city planner Dustin Wright and planning staff). The neighborhood was invited to submit written comments and to raise privacy or lot-size concerns with planners before the public hearings.
Next steps: the application will be scheduled for a planning-commission public hearing and then for the city-council public hearing; no formal decision was made at the neighborhood meeting.
