Tooele City staff propose commercial architectural standards to preserve downtown and corridor appearance

Community Development Director Andrew Agard presented a proposed two-page architectural standards ordinance to apply to new and renovated commercial development in Tooele City’s commercial and mixed-use zones.

Agard said Tooele has no current architectural design guidelines for commercial zones and that the proposed standards are intended to preserve quality and prevent regression as the city grows. Key elements include four-sided architecture, facade variation at least every 50 feet, vertical roofline variation, limits on exterior materials (no more than five and no fewer than two per building; restrictions on uncolored CMU, wood as primary finish, and pattern stucco as a masonry substitute), screening for rooftop mechanical equipment and paint/texture requirements for attached utility equipment, and masonry dumpster enclosures located away from the right-of-way.

Agard emphasized flexibility: the rules are intended to be a simple staff review item tied to site-plan approval, with an appeal mechanism to the planning commission for unique designs. Council members expressed general support, asked if renovations would be subject to the standards (Agard said yes, with flexibility and planning commission appeals) and directed staff to ensure the new language harmonizes with existing Downtown Overlay provisions. Agard said he would integrate the standards into the city’s site-plan review ordinance and return with codification details.