Johnson General Plan Amendment

The applicant is requesting review and recommendation of the Johnson General Plan Amendment. The proposal is to amend the General Plan land use designation of this property from Neighborhood Commercial Node (NCN) and Low Density Residential (LDR) to Neighborhood Commercial Node (NCN) and High Density Residential (HDR). The amendment would only include the western four acres of Johnson’s property and the remaining 4.77 acres to the east, closest to the Jordan River, would remain LDR.

The NCN designation is an overlay, which allows for neighborhood commercial uses on the property if the City deems it appropriate at that location. If not, the underlying designation would apply. In this case, the applicant is requesting to change the underlying designation from LDR to HDR. The current designation of LDR would allow for a maximum density of 3.25 units per acre. The amendment to HDR would allow for a maximum density of 12 units per acre.

The applicant stated in their narrative that this request is being made due to the proximity of the property to the future Primary Children’s Hospital, high school, city parks and trails, and the fire station. The applicant indicated that the increased density could help bring more homes to the area to service those sites. The DRC did issue a few concerns in their comments regarding the fixed utility capacity in this area. The DRC also stated that increased density may be allowed in lieu of reimbursement for the planned trails and road right-of-way and improvements.