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Taylorsville planners consider easing rules for detached ADUs; ask staff for GIS analysis and text amendment
Summary
At the June 10 meeting, Taylorsville Planning Commissioners discussed proposed standards for external accessory dwelling units — including an 8,000 sq ft lot-size proposal, owner-occupancy, size limits of 200–1,500 sq ft, shared utilities, and a recommended ban on short-term rentals — and asked staff to prepare a formal text amendment and GIS analysis for a potential July public hearing.
Taylorsville Planning Commission members spent the bulk of their June 10 meeting debating proposed standards for external accessory dwelling units (ADUs), directing staff to prepare a formal code amendment and additional neighborhood-mapping analysis that could lead to a public hearing as soon as July.
Senior Planner Jim Spung explained the discussion was part of the city’s response to Utah Code § 13-9a-403 and the city’s Moderate-Income Housing Plan strategies, and that the goal was to gather commissioner input before drafting ordinance language for a public hearing. He said the city had selected five strategies that include creating or reducing regulations for internal or detached ADUs.
The draft concepts discussed by staff and commissioners included a proposed minimum lot size of 8,000 square feet for ADUs (with an exception for new construction), a required owner-occupancy of either the primary dwelling or the ADU, and parking rules that may need to account for pending state legislation. Staff also outlined dimensional and design proposals: a minimum ADU size of 200 square feet, a maximum of 1,500 square feet for detached units, a two-bedroom limit, design standards to match the primary dwelling, and shared utility connections to discourage lot subdivision.
Commissioners discussed whether to start conservatively with a 10,000-square-foot minimum, to adopt 8,000 square feet as proposed, or to avoid a minimum lot-size threshold and instead limit the number of permits issued. Commissioner Don Quigley advocated for a conservative rollout (larger lots first), while Commissioner Barbara Munoz suggested collecting more data on ADU inquiries and limiting permit counts rather than setting high lot-size minimums. Vice Chair Marc McElreath urged moving more quickly to allow external ADUs and said he preferred the 8,000-square-foot option over 10,000 if a minimum were needed; he and other commissioners supported requiring a public hearing for any proposed two-story ADU.
The commission also discussed a proposed prohibition on using ADUs as short-term rentals so that housing remains available for residents rather than investors, and considered a standard maximum height of 16 feet for detached ADUs with potential limited exceptions to allow two stories in specific cases. Commissioners asked staff for additional GIS analysis to understand neighborhood impacts and directed Spung to send the presentation materials and prepare a more formal review for the next meeting, potentially leading to a text-amendment public hearing in July.
Procedural votes at the meeting included approval of the April 22, 2025 minutes (motion by Commissioner Don Quigley; second by Commissioner Gordon Willardson; recorded vote 5-0 with one abstention) and the tabling of the May 13, 2025 minutes because too many commissioners needed to abstain, leaving no quorum for that vote. Commissioner Munoz moved to adjourn at the end of the agenda; Commissioner Wilkey seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m.
Next steps: staff will prepare a formal text amendment and supporting materials, including GIS analysis, for commission review and potential public hearing; no ordinance was adopted at this meeting.
