Provo City Planning Commission

Report of Action
May 28, 2014


ITEM 4* The firms Gardner & Associates, and PEG Development, are requesting text amendments to Section
14.21A.030(4) of the Provo City Zoning Ordinance, to allow nonresidential uses as an optional rather than a
required use on the first floor of buildings fronting Center Street east of 100 East and west of 500 West, and
on the portion of University Avenue south of Center Street, all within the DT1 General Downtown zoning
district. Central Business District Neighborhood and City Wide 14-0004OA

The following action was taken by the Planning Commission on the above described item at its regular meeting of May
28, 2014:

RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE

On a vote of 4:0, recommended that the Municipal Council approve the above noted application.
A motion was forwarded to approve amendment 14-0004OA as suggested in the staff report, with the exception of
amending 100 East to be 200 East, and with adopting the staff report as findings for this decision.

Motion By: Kermit McKinney
Second By: Jamin Rowan
Votes in Favor of Motion: McKinney, Rowan, Bandley and Christensen
Diane Christensen was present as Chair.

$ Includes facts of the case, analysis, conclusions and recommendations outlined in the Staff Report, with any
changes noted; Planning Commission determination is generally consistent with the Staff analysis and
determination.

RELATED ACTIONS
No related actions

PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED TEXT AMENDMENT
Section 14.21A.030(4)
(a) Except as allowed under subsection (b) below, nonresidential uses are required in the minimal habitable floor depth
on the first story of all building frontage on University Avenue and Center Street within the district.
(b) For buildings fronting University Avenue south of Center Street, or else fronting Center Street west of 500 West and
east of 200 East Streets, the first floor areas shall be designed and the shell constructed to allow for nonresidential
uses, however, residential use is permitted until the building owner determines the nonresidential use of the area to
be economically viable.
(c)

STAFF PRESENTATION
The Staff Report to the Planning Commission provides details of the facts of the case and the Staff's analysis,
conclusions, and recommendations. Key points addressed in the Staff's presentation to the Planning Commission
included the following:


CITY DEPARTMENTAL ISSUES
$ No input from City Departments

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING DATE
$ All Neighborhood Chairs received notification. No input has been received from a neighborhood chair.

NEIGHBORHOOD AND PUBLIC COMMENT
$ There were no comments from the public during this hearing.
$ One of the applicants spoke in favor on the amendment, giving his experience in trying to rent commercial space on
east Center Street for over a year.

PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSION
Key points discussed by the Planning Commission included the following:
$ One planning commission member wondered if a maximum time allowance should be put on these properties.
$ The applicant responded that time-frames are problematic. Only the market determines when a property is ripe for
commercial use. Because commercial, and even professional office, command higher rents, the property owner will
be motivated to allow those uses, when the market is ripe for those uses.






Planning Commission Chair




Director of Community Development

See Key Land Use Policies of the Provo City General Plan, applicable Titles of the Provo City Code, and the Staff Report to the
Planning Commission for further detailed information. The Staff Report is a part of the record of the decision of this item.
Where findings of the Planning Commission differ from findings of Staff, those will be noted in this Report of Action.

Legislative items are noted with an asterisk (*) and require legislative action by the Municipal Council following a public hearing;
the Planning Commission provides an advisory recommendation to the Municipal Council following a public hearing.
Administrative decisions of the Planning Commission (items not marked with an asterisk) may be appealed by submitting an
application/notice of appeal, with the required application and noticing fees, to the Community Development Department, 330
West 100 South, Provo, Utah, within fourteen (14) calendar days of the Planning Commission's decision (Provo
City office hours are Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.).
BUILDING PERMITS MUST BE OBTAINED BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS


Planning Commission
Staff Report
Ordinance Amendment
Hearing Date: May 28, 2014

ITEM 4* The firms Gardner & Associates, and PEG Development, are requesting text
amendments to Section 14.21A.030(4) of the Provo City Zoning Ordinance, to allow nonresidential
uses as an optional rather than a required use on the first floor of buildings fronting Center Street
east of 100 East and west of 500 West, and on the portion of University Avenue south of Center
Street, all within the DT1 General Downtown zoning district. Central Business District
Neighborhood and City Wide 14-0004OA



Applicants: Gardner & Associates George Bills
PEG Development -- Soren Halladay

Staff Coordinator: Brian Maxfield

Property Owner: N/A
Parcel ID#: N/A
Current Zone: DT-1

*Council Action Required: Yes

Related Application(s): None


ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
1. Continue to a future date to obtain additional
information or to further consider information
presented. The next available meeting date is
June 25, 2014, at 5:00 p.m.
2. Recommend Denial of the proposed ordinance
amendment. This would be a change from the
Staff recommendation; the Planning
Commission should state new findings.


Current Legal Use:
Residential when attached to commercial or
other nonresidential use.

Relevant History:
DT-1 Zone enacted in 2010

Neighborhood Issues:
To date, no comments have been received
from any neighborhood chairs.

Summary of Key Issues:
First floor commercial uses are currently
required along certain frontages in
downtown area.
Appropriateness of requirement.
Timing and means of transition to viable
commercial use.

Staff Recommendation:
Recommend Approval of Staffs revision to
the proposed ordinance amendment. This
action would be consistent with the
recommendation of the Staff Report. Any
additional changes should be stated with the
motion

Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 2



OVERVIEW

Under Section 14.21A.030(4), first floor commercial uses are required along certain
frontages in the DT-1 Zone.

14.21A.030. Permitted Uses
(4) First Floor Commercial. Nonresidential uses are required in the minimum
habitable floor depth on the first story of all building frontage on University Avenue
and Center Street within the district.

Additionally, buildings located in the DT1 zoning district are subject to related design
requirements for first floor commercial development.

14.34.295 Downtown Development Design Standards
(2) Each first floor commercial frontage situated along a primary street shall
provide a minimum of forty per cent (40%) completely transparent glass and on
secondary streets thirty (30%) completely transparent glass.

Two applicants have requested modifications of this requirement due to their particular
circumstances. The first, Gardner and Associates are looking to make the requirement
for a nonresidential use, an option for buildings east of 100 East, and west of 500 West
on Center Street. Their submitted request is to make the commercial requirement an
option for properties east of 100 East and west of 500 West on Center Street.

The second applicant, PEG Development, is looking to exempt those buildings located
along University Avenue, south of Center Street. Specific language submitted by PEG
Development is as follows:

(4) First Floor Commercial. Nonresidential uses are required in the minimum
habitable floor depth on the first story of all building frontage on University Avenue
north of Center Street and along Center Street within the district.

or else,

(4) First Floor Commercial Appearance. Nonresidential uses are required in the
minimum habitable floor depth on the first story of all building frontage on University
Avenue and Center Street within the district. The first story of all building frontage
on University Avenue and Center Street within the district, must maintain a
commercial appearance and abide by Section 14.34.295, Downtown Development
Design Standards.
Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 3



The principal issue or cause for both of the requested text amendments is the current
and long-term commercial viability (principally retail) of the sites to support commercial
uses, both the current and the long-term market.


FINDINGS OF FACT

The DT-1 Downtown Commercial zone currently requires first floor nonresidential
uses in buildings along Center Street and University Avenue.
Commercial viability often lags behind residential development.
It is almost always less expensive to design and develop for nonresidential uses as
the building is constructed, rather than including the nonresidential uses through
reconstruction when the market viability occurs.


STAFF ANALYSIS

1. Provo City Code Section 14.02.020(2) sets forth the following guidelines for
consideration of ordinance text amendments:
Before recommending an amendment to this Title, the Planning Commission
shall determine whether such amendment is in the interest of the public, and is
consistent with the goals and policies of the Provo City General Plan. The
following guidelines shall be used to determine consistency with the General
Plan:

(a) Public purpose for the amendment in question.
The amendment, with modifications as proposed by staff, would continue
to be in compliance with the goals and polices of the General Plan, and
still allow for usable leasable space until such time as the commercial
market conditions dictate a stronger viability for nonresidential use.

(b) Confirmation that the public purpose is best served by the amendment in
question.
The amendment, as modified by staff, would allow a more immediate
return on investment for the first floor leasable floor area, rather than the
space sitting vacant until such time as favorable market conditions occur.

(c) Compatibility of the proposed amendment with General Plan policies,
goals, and objectives.

Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 4



The amendment, as modified by staff, would be in compliance with
General Plan policies, goals, and objectives, including those articulated
under Land Use in regard to the Central Area Guiding Principles, Policies
and Goals; the Central Business District Neighborhood; Goals of the
Downtown Planning Area; and, the Downtown Specific Action Plan.

(d) Consistency of the proposed amendment with the General Plan=s Atiming
and sequencing@ provisions on changes of use, insofar as they are
articulated.
The proposed amendment does not affect the timing and sequencing
provisions of the General Plan.

(e) Potential of the proposed amendment to hinder or obstruct attainment of
the General Plan=s articulated policies.
The proposed amendment should not hinder or obstruct attainment of the
articulated policies, but instead allow for the reasonable use of space until
such time as market conditions support a transition to the more desirable
nonresidential use of the ground floor space.

(f) Adverse impacts on adjacent land owners.
None anticipated.

(g) Verification of correctness in the original zoning or General Plan for the
area in question.
The proposed amendment is in compliance with the current zoning and
the General Plan.

(h) In cases where a conflict arises between the General Plan Map and
General Plan Policies, precedence shall be given to the Plan Policies.
Only one possible conflict occurs in the area of the proposed amendment
regarding the area of Center Street, east of 100 East Street. In that case,
the proposed amendment more closely follows the General Plan Policies.


CONCLUSIONS

Staff believes the current policies of the General Plan as they apply to this area are
important to the realization of its potential for mixed-use and pedestrian friendly streets,
and that the overall intent should be maintained and reflected in the text of the Zoning
Ordinance. However, confirming those policies does not mean the Zoning Ordinance,
Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 5



as a tool of implementation, should not amended or adjusted when necessary, to allow
a reasonable transitional type use when the ultimate use is not yet viable. A relatively
easy amendment would be to require new buildings to design and build the shell of the
first floor to eventually accommodate future nonresidential uses, while allowing the
occupancy of the space to be utilized for residential uses, until such time as the
buildings owner deems the space is viable for retail or professional service uses.

Additional thought may be given to consider the area east of Center Street as a more
transitional area between the core downtown and the neighboring lower density areas to
the east. This would also seem to be in harmony with the intent of the General Plan
(see Appendix A) and the nature of rehabilitating an existing apartment building.
However, staff strongly believes the first floor areas of the other sites considered in the
application will indeed be commercially viable as the larger area develops. Staff also
believes the pedestrian scale and design of the streetscape and walkability of the area
would be detrimentally affected if the first floor of new buildings were built to a
residential scale.


STAFF RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends the Planning Commission recommend approval of an amendment to
Section 14.21A.030(4) as follows:
(a) Except as allowed under subsection (b) below, nonresidential uses are
required in the minimum habitable floor depth on the first story of all building
frontage on University Avenue and Center Street within the district.
(b) For buildings fronting University Avenue south of Center Street, or else
fronting Center Street west of 500 West and east of 100 East Streets, the first floor
areas shall be designed and the shell constructed to allow for nonresidential use,
however, residential use is permitted until the building owner determines the
nonresidential use of the area to be economically viable.


Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 6



Appendix A

GENERAL PLAN REFERENCES with STAFF COMMENTS
(staff has highlighted areas of the text as a topical emphasis)


CHAPTER 6 - LAND USE

Central Area Neighborhood

5. Pedestrian-friendly design is strongly encouraged to achieve standards of
livability within urban corridors ..

Comment Pedestrian-friendly design and livability general imply nonresidential
design in larger buildings located along major street corridors in
downtown areas.

18. Structures originally built for residential use on: Center Street: 100 East to 400
East . Should be allowed to retain commercial uses.

Comment: This would seem to imply commercial might be an optional
consideration for businesses on Center Street above 100 East.

20. Center Street, between 500 West and the railroad tracks should be studied and
planned to capitalize on the reconstruction of the Interstate 15 Center Street
interchange. An analysis of appropriate mixed-use and commercial land
uses, densities and other factors should guide the development of any zoning
ordinances regulating this area.

Comment: This would seem to imply the 500 West to 600 West area along Center
Street should be considered for mixed-use and commercial land uses
not the possible exclusion of commercial uses.

Central Business District Neighborhood

2. Establish a Downtown Planning Area to establish new zoning policies based
upon the following guidelines:

.. Previous General Plan policies have called for a peripheral CBD zone
addressing the need to create an adequate transition from protected low-
Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 7



density areas to regionally centered business towers and envisioned high-
density mixed-use development with the existing Provo Central Business
District. Additionally, the current CBD zone does not provide the regulations
necessary to ensure that future development facilitates a pedestrian
friendly, mixed-use regional center as envisioned by stated General Plan
goals, related visioning documents and recommendations from
professional consultants.

Transitional Urban
The Transitional Urban Planning area seeks to provide an appropriate scaled
development bridge between protected neighborhoods and high-density
downtown developments. This should be accomplished by reductions in
building height and mass, more residentially based architectural standards,
increases in setbacks, with uses limited to those that are compatible with the
lower-scale nature of the adjacent neighborhood.

Comment: These sections would seem to support the idea of the uses along east
of 100 East on Center Street, being considered as a transitional area
between the lower density areas to the east, and the downtown area

General Urban
The General Urban Planning area, encompassing the traditional area of the
Central Business District including Historic Center Street seeks to
provide a human-scaled pedestrian environment suitable for the majority of the
Downtown Planning Area. This planning areas mixed-use nature is intended to
provide housing and business opportunities adjacent to public transit and thereby
facilitate increased use of public transit and reduce City-wide traffic and
congestion elsewhere. The General Urban Planning Area is characteristic of
pedestrian oriented, well-lit streets, ample pedestrian ways, landscaping
and attractive, inviting, residential uses, well-maintained shops, stores,
offices, with buildings designed to accommodate a mix of uses.

A sub-district planning area within the General Urban Planning areas for the
unique circumstances of Historic Center Street, between 100 East and 500
West should be addressed. Center Street is the historic core of the Citys
business and architectural legacy. To preserve the historic integrity and nature
of Center Street, zoning regulations should be tailored to be compatible with
historic buildings that are targeted for preservation.

Planning Commission Staff Report Item 4*
May 28, 2014 Page 8



Comment: These sections would seem to exclude the Center Street areas east of
100 East and west of 500 West, from direct association with the intent
of the General Urban area to include shops, stores and offices along
the street.

Goals of the Downtown Planning Area also include:
1. The residential standards in the Downtown Planning area should promote
residential development with mixed uses such as retail and office.
Residential development should not be on the ground floors on primary
streets, but should be developed on the remaining stories and as ground floor
uses on secondary streets. The downtown planning area should require
sufficient off-street parking yet should be flexible enough to allow residential
development at lower than typical parking ratios. Residential uses are
recognized as being essential to providing 24-hour use of the downtown
and for providing a strong residential base to support businesses within a
walkable community.

3. The Downtown Planning Area should identify primary streets that should be
required to maintain and increase pedestrian oriented activity associated
with ground floor commercial uses.

4. The Downtown Planning Area should be compact, pedestrian-oriented and
mixed-use.

Comment: Taken broadly, the statements that residential development should not
be located on ground floors on primary streets within the Downtown
Planning Area, would seem to conflict with the other sections.
However, taken in context, would seem to still allow for an exclusion.

Downtown Specific Action Plan
2. Preserving Downtowns Sense of Place, As the Downtown grows to
accommodate many more people, the City must take actions necessary to
preserve the distinctive qualities which attract people and distinguish it from other
places. Center Street between 500 West and 100 East in particular will
maintain this distinctiveness in the form of a very pedestrian-oriented scale
of development with well-maintained historic buildings, mature and well-tended
landscaping, on-street parking, a variety of unique dining and shopping
opportunities.