Planning commission recommends FSH overlay for Bornstead View after wetlands review

The Sandy Planning Commission on Aug. 24 recommended that the City Council amend the zoning map to add a flood-and-slope-hazard (FSH) overlay to the Bornstead View subdivision (file 26-029ZC) after staff and state agency delineations identified a wetland and an informal stream on the property.

Planning staff said the site was annexed in 2019 and reviewed previously, and that DSL concurred with the developer's wetland delineation. Staff described an outfall from the development's detention basin that discharges under Maple Street and then daylights into the delineated wetland, and said the code requires a standard 25-foot wetland setback plus an approximately 50-foot top-of-bank buffer, producing roughly 75 feet of added protected area on the site. As staff put it during the presentation, "it's an undeniably large, retaining wall" that helps define where flows re-enter the stream network. Staff recommended approval, saying the proposal is consistent with statewide planning goals protecting wetlands and the city's development code.

Applicant representative Tracy Brown, who helped prepare the application materials, told commissioners the map amendment is largely ministerial because "the fish overlay code says exactly what the setbacks are gonna be," and suggested the city consider streamlining similar mapping changes to reduce applicant expense. Commissioners asked whether approval posed any development risk; staff replied it would not prevent future development but would require extra technical review for two lots that intersect the overlay (lots 10 and 11), including geotechnical analysis if slope triggers are met.

A commissioner moved to adopt the staff findings and recommend approval of file 26-029ZC to the City Council; the motion passed by roll-call vote with all members present voting yes. The City Council is scheduled to hear the item at its Oct. 5 meeting.