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Commissioners flag ADU lot‑width standard as code issue; staff to pursue data‑driven review
Summary
During the Feb. 5 Planning Commission meeting commissioners and staff noted the ADU lot‑width standard’s impact on older parcels and referenced an ongoing consultant review of affordable‑housing code amendments; staff suggested appellants could petition for a code change.
Several commissioners used the appeal hearing to raise broader policy questions about the City’s ADU rules, particularly the 50‑foot minimum lot width in Title 17. Commissioner Mary Anna Southey observed that many older lots in South Salt Lake predate current standards and asked whether the lot‑width threshold was serving the city’s housing goals. Commissioner Suzanne Slifka and Chair Jeremy Carter expressed concern that ad hoc exceptions could undermine consistent enforcement.
Senior City Planner Spencer Cawley told the commission there is an ongoing process with a consultant to examine code amendments related to affordable housing, which could include metrics for ADUs. He said staff hopes to bring data‑driven recommendations back to the commission. Commissioners and appellants were reminded that, while code amendments are an available pathway, the current appeal was a quasi‑judicial matter constrained by existing code and the five statutory variance criteria.
The exchange clarified two separate paths: (1) the commission must apply existing ordinance language to the appeal before it, and (2) changes to thresholds like lot width require a legislative code amendment that would be considered through staff analysis, public hearings, and the City Council work program. Appellants were told they could petition for such an ordinance change if they wished to pursue that route.
