West Centerville plan approved
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Noel Case
Standard-Examiner correspondent
City sets limits on development west of new Legacy Parkway
CENTERVILLE -- Updates and amendments to the city's general plan for the area west of Interstate 15 were approved by the city council last week. The council is preparing for growth that will occur as Legacy Parkway is built from Salt Lake City into Davis County.
Community Development Director Cory Snyder said the recommendations were reached after consulting with land and business owners, stakeholders, developers and other residents, many of whom will be directly involved with changes to the area.
"The individual synergy is where a lot of the meat for this project came from," Snyder said.
He said feedback from residents played a big part in shaping the plan and the current amendment.
Council members and several landowners at the meeting expressed concern that a proposal to limit each development to a maximum of 50,000 square feet would be too limiting.
Snyder said the suggested restriction was based on the philosophy of retaining a local atmosphere over commercial needs.
"A Kohl's department store is 100,000 square feet. If you want to have a more intimate connection, you need multiple anchors and users. The area isn't big enough to do both," Snyder said.
The council approved an amendment to the plan stipulating that the maximum tenant space will be set at between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet, and a single-use building at 125,000 square feet.
There will be a 30-foot buffer zone between developments, preventing land owners from developing to the edge of the property.
Ken Averret, a former planning commission member who served on an ad hoc committee of west side property owners for this project, discussed the need for residential areas to accommodate, among other things, housing for business owners moving into the area.
"We will need a place for them to live," Averret said. "We need to take a serious look at residential possibilities."
Two west side landowners suggested the possibility of high-density residential housing, such as high-rise condominiums.
They conceded this might be frowned on by some in the community but could have practical applicationss in the future.
Snyder said interspersing residential areas with high-density business development could be tricky. He felt separating the two would be the best option and urged the council to consider a residential area in the extreme north area of the development.
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