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Council adopts Draper Town Center station-area plan after public pushback on height and traffic
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing in which residents raised traffic, height and buffer concerns, the council approved the Draper Town Center station-area general-plan amendment (Ordinance 16-35) by a unanimous vote, instructing staff to pursue edits reducing heights adjacent to Parkstone and adding fence/buffer language.
Todd Taylor, presenting the staff report, said the Town Center Station Area Plan was developed from outreach beginning in 2022 and is intended to meet state requirements under House Bill 462. The plan designates the Fitzgerald city-owned parcel for a community plaza and mixed use, proposes up to five stories on some UTA and redevelopable parcels, and includes a 100-foot landscape buffer adjacent to the Parkstone neighborhood.
"This whole process then led to the development of the preferred concept," Taylor said, describing outreach and three alternative concepts that led to the preferred plan. Dozens of residents urged the council to limit building heights and reduce traffic impacts; Parkstone residents repeatedly asked that buildings adjacent to their neighborhood be reduced to three stories and for the existing UTA fence and buffer to be preserved.
Mayor and council members acknowledged the state mandate and tight timeline for adopting station-area plans to comply with HB 462 and to avoid potential funding penalties. The mayor said cities got "say" through the station-area plan process but warned there is limited discretion over UTA property. Councilmember Lowry moved approval with direction to reduce heights next to Parkstone to three stories where feasible and to add language referencing the existing fence; the motion was seconded and the plan passed unanimously, 5–0.
The council and staff emphasized that adoption amends the general plan (an advisory document) and is not final zoning; subsequent ordinance and code-writing steps will implement standards, buffering and any owner-occupancy encouragements.
