Planning commission recommends preliminary approval for Homestead Golf Cottages amid neighbor concerns over transient rentals

The Midway City Planning Commission voted to recommend preliminary approval for the Homestead Golf Cottages and Homes (Homestead Hotel Condominium Lot 2), a 2.69‑acre phase of the Homestead Resort master plan.

Staff planner Michael presented the proposal and key findings, saying the mixed resort/R‑115 site follows the 2008 master plan and is the final plat needing recording. He said the proposal would increase rentable "keys" within the master plan to about 285 and that the current phase’s footprint (about 268,432 square feet) remains inside the master‑plan maximum of 367,750 square feet. "They can all be transient rentals because that agreement was never recorded and never signed by the developer," Michael said, explaining a previously approved 2008 amendment prohibiting nightly rentals for four units was never recorded and therefore is not in force.

Commissioners and staff flagged several conditions to appear on the final submittal, including: correcting the southern boundary line to reflect a recent plat amendment; showing the required landscaping on the north side of the cul‑de‑sac to prevent unauthorized access to cottage parking areas; and ensuring all required parking for each building is completed before each building’s certificate of occupancy is issued. Michael noted the project exceeds the code‑required parking and provided updated numbers: the project needs 491 stalls and the master plan shows 563.

Applicant representative Ben Shakespeare told the commission the cottages will operate as transient units within the Marriott rental pool, will not have full kitchens ("These do not have kitchens like the other ones"), and that retaining limited golf‑cart access for housekeeping and guest circulation is preferable to closing the cul‑de‑sac: "This would be solely golf carts," he said.

Laurie Aaron, president of Links Homestead Associates, asked to speak during the open‑comment period and said the HOA had assumed the first four homes were to be single‑family residences, not nightly rentals. "We were under the assumption that the first 4 homes were single family homes, not in the transients," she said, and added the association and applicant continue to discuss open items that they hope to resolve.

A commissioner moved to recommend preliminary approval with staff’s recommended conditions; the motion passed by voice vote. Next steps: the applicant will return for final plat review and the staff‑requested conditions must be reflected in final drawings and in the developer’s recorded documents.

The commission’s recommendation advances the project to the city council for final consideration.