Planning commission recommends allowing limited food service in public buildings, including library cafe

The North Ogden Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the city council adopt a legislative amendment to permit and regulate limited accessory commercial food uses in public buildings.

Scott Hess, the city’s community and economic development director, said staff drafted ZTA 2026-1 to correct inconsistencies in Title 11 of the code and to add "public buildings" to the civic-zone permitted uses. Hess said the amendment is intended to allow accessory food-service operations — for example, a cafe inside the county library that already has a commercial kitchen — but not to create independent restaurants in places that are not accessory to a civic use.

Hess said the change fixes a circular reference in the code and will allow a proprietor with a standard commercial business license to operate in public buildings where accessory food service is appropriate. He emphasized that temporary food users such as food trucks remain permitted via 90-day temporary business licenses and that larger changes (rezoning parcels to civic) can be handled separately where appropriate.

A public commenter, Kate Previs, told the commission she is "open to it," and urged maintaining aesthetics and landscaping around sites, particularly trailheads, so that new uses do not encourage graffiti or litter.

Commissioners said the amendment is a pragmatic fix to a code inconsistency and moved to recommend the change to the city council. The motion passed on a unanimous roll call.

What happens next: The commission’s vote sends ZTA 2026-1 to the city council for final action; staff said rezones for specific parcels (for example, the pool or other civic parcels) may come back to the commission when appropriate.