FARMINGTON ¬-- City planners hope there is a business park in this community's future.
In an effort to preserve a region for a potential business park near the border with Kaysville, just north of Station Park, city officials have begun the process of looking at conceptual amendments to the city's general plan and possible zoning changes to facilitate those changes.
David Petersen, the city's community development director, outlined some of the proposed changes in meetings held recently.
The conceptual plans will now be shared with potential stakeholders in the area, according to City Manager Dave Millheim.
The meeting will be the second between Millheim and stakeholders in the area.
Specifically, the outline calls for removing low-density residential and medium-density residential areas on the city's general plan south of the border with Kaysville, west of 1525 West and north of Burke Lane. Those areas would be redesignated as class A business park.
Zoning in the area would also be changed from large residential and R-4 to office mixed use.
Two other key properties, outlined on the zoning map, would potentially be rezoned from residential mixed use to office mixed use.
In addition to rezoning, some of the zoning uses also would change, Petersen said.
High-density residential, or condominium and apartment style, would be eliminated as a permitted use in an office mixed use zone.
Residential facilities for the elderly and residential facilities for the handicapped would be permitted uses.
Millheim, a former developer, said mixed use of residential and office space is not a concept that has caught hold in Utah.
"Mixed use was a sexy flavor of the month abused by developers," Millheim said of the concept. "The market is saying it's not happening in Utah right now."
With the development of Station Park, Millheim said, it will be natural for developers to look north of the project to the other side of Park Lane and the targeted business park area.
Farmington does not have a business park, and leaders have eyed the area north of Park Lane and Station Park as a site for possible commercial development for some time.
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