The Cottonwood Heights Planning Commissioners have been working with city staff to draft a form-based code since 2020. After an open house to gather community feedback from residents and property owners in March inspired revisions to many iterations of a form-based code draft, the 100-page document was finally ready for review. The commission unanimously recommended approval to the city council on June 5. The commission then met with the city council to discuss form-based code in a joint meeting on Oct. 29. They decided that form-based code will be further considered. 

The city councilmembers voiced their concerns about a handful of items throughout the drafted form-based code. They will be planning to sit down with city staff to have them walk through their questions and concerns. 

“I want to meet with my council colleagues to hear their perspectives,” said Councilmember Ellen Birrell. “We all want to sit down and understand.” 

As this was one of the first times the planning commission and city council was able to sit down all together since the commission’s recommended approval, the city council asked each of the commissioners to walk them through how they got to certain wordings and concepts within the form-based code draft. 

“I’m struggling to understand how this form-based code applies to suburban lifestyle,” said Councilmember Suzanne Hyland. “It is based in new urbanism and is designed to be applied to densely-populated cities.” 

She also mentioned the incongruity with how greatly Cottonwood Heights has changed since form-based code was first sought after; referencing how the Ikon Pass and pandemic has brought more numbers of visitors to the city. 

Birrell recapped that form-based code was developed as a “way to promote against the negative impacts of suburban sprawl. Our neighborhoods are fearful of overdevelopment and higher density.” 

“I think we need to look at our objectives and determine what we want as a city now,” Hyland said. 

She opened the discussion between the city’s commissioners and councilmembers around about the development and implementation of form-based with three questions: What are our objectives? Does form-based code support these objectives? How is it that this urban solution can be overlaid onto our suburban city? 

“OK! That’s easy,” laughed Mayor Mike Weichers, realizing the scope of the conversation. 

“We have little control over particular types of development with the city to have a particular feel,” said Planning Commission Chair Dan Mills. “This has the potential to make things a little more towards what we want to see. We can shape this however we want and make it more palatable to meet our needs.” 

Quickly, common concerns related to continual development overtook the conversation. Councilmembers and commissioners brought up concerns related to the vision/character of the city, new development, remodeling businesses, resident/commuter/travel behavior, onsite parking, building/development height, setbacks, transit opportunities and disparate districts.   

“It’s the wild wild West where developers can turn wherever into whatever. Developers would like to know what the city would like to see,” Mills summarized.  

Councilmember Matthew Holton reiterated the benefit of form-based code as “to streamline processes for development and having one vision to help not go through an onerous process for a vision.” 

However, based on what was current drafted at the time, he questioned if form-based code was being used as a tool intended to change certain public behavior. 

Hyland chimed in with an example. “There are no minimum parking stalls for commercial areas. There are requirements for bike parking. There are mandates for EV charging stations. That does seem to be changing a certain behavior.”

“The last thing you want to do is limit parking so everyone feels like they can come from wherever, but people need to feel like they can still walk,” Weichers said. 

“…market and site design will drive that,” said Community and Economic Development Director Mike Johnson. “Developers won’t have buildings that won’t support parking.”

Johnson referenced the recent closure of Even Stevens along 1346 Fort Union Boulevard as an example of what can happen when businesses develop without enough available parking. 

Synthesizing what he had heard so far, Planning Commissioner Mike Shelton questioned if the sticking points were related to planning mechanisms or standards. If everyone in the room could agree to specific development standards, would they want the PDD (Planned Development District) or form-based code to be the mechanism for those standards? 

“Parking was a significant problem for me,” Planning Commission Vice Chair Lucy Anderson said weaving multiple points of the previous conversation together. “Form-based code is a big change of mindset. I’m very comfortable with how the form-based code defines parking and working with businesses moving forward. That’s why I voted for the recommendation.” 

Johnson overviewed a parking table previously discussed by the planning commission, where property owners would have shared parking agreements to make parking more efficient, with the benefit of parking credits. 

“It’s already working in informal business partnerships, and we should memorialize it with at a table like this,” Mills said. 

Hyland asked if it would be possible to consider implementing and working through an example project before finalizing an entire form-based code for the city in perpetuity. 

Johnson noted the purpose(s) of the city adapting form-based code would be to meet the visions in various master plans like the Parks, Trails and Open Space Master Plan and to implement in specific plans like the Fort Union Boulevard Master Plan. 

“We would suggest a demonstration with one project with the Town Center area and a residential transition area like an office form district you see today, as pilot cases,” Johnson said.  

To learn more about the drafting of form-based code within Cottonwood Heights, visit the “Form-Based Code” page on the city’s website by clicking on the “City Services” tab, navigating to the “Community Development” area, and visiting the last item on the list: www.cottonwoodheights.utah.gov/city-services/