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Council asks staff to tighten commercial zoning at city entryways and pick a zone for regulated uses
Summary
Councilors asked the planning commission to review commercial zoning at city entryways, consider buffers to protect nearby residential lots and identify an appropriate zone for state-regulated "vice" industries so the city is not legally vulnerable to exclusion claims.
Council members pressed staff on how the city should treat commercial parcels at prominent entry points, including an area south of Maverik and parcels near 2700 East where commercial, mixed-use and residential options were all debated.
"Theres an argument for both whether it's commercial, residential, or a mixed use," one council member said, urging the planning commission to recommend the best fit and any buffer standards to protect adjoining homes. Multiple members emphasized the need for the general plan to call out buffer policies that could then be implemented in code.
Staff and a councilor also discussed a past hotel proposal near 2700 East and whether code changes are required to clarify whether a hotel would be allowed; the group agreed the planning commission should review permitted uses in the commercial zone and suggest deletions or clarifications.
On regulated or "vice" industries, a staff speaker summarized the legal constraint: "The rule under state laws ... if you don't [zone a location] somewhere then you cannot exclude them anywhere. So you have to pick somewhere in the city that where those things would be located," and recommended designating a specific zone (not necessarily large) that remains viable to avoid legal exposure.
The planning commission was asked to recommend specific zoning language and buffering strategies for commercial entryways, and to flag uses the council may want to remove or clarify in code.
