Rezone Beachside For Million Dollar Homes

Randall Knight, Reporter

Rich Civic Times 

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  March 2, 2016. The Planning and Zoning public hearing meeting began at 4:30 PM and had approximately 22 residents in attendance.    The board members present were: Jim DeGroot, Susan House, Jim Stone, Dewayne Gifford and Tom Stevens.

Nate Perry requested rezoning the property located at approx. 620 S. Bear Lake Blvd from Beach Development and Single Family Residential zone to a Planned Unit Development to be named Legacy Beach, Bear Lake Resort, LLC.  The development would consist of 3.9 acres on the east side of Hwy 30 and 4.1 acres on the west side.  There would be 15 homes worth $1million on the lake side and 12 condos on the mountain side.

When the board asked for public comments several people stood and voiced their concerns with regard to safety, excess parking, ingress/egress, emergency vehicle access, additional people crossing Hwy 30 from the condos, lack of restrooms on beach area, property value decreasing, short term rental issues, etc.  They also felt the project does not meet the ordinance requirement of at least 5 acres because each of the parcels are less than the requirement as stated above. They also requested the city consider the wet land requirements and to ensure the Corp of Engineers are included in the planning along with UDOT with the traffic safety concerns.  They also thought the development didn’t align with the City’s Master Plan which they had paid thousands of dollars for. In response to short term rental concern, the ordinance officer reported there were 10 short term rental complaints last year: 3 noise and 7 parking.  He pointed out the majority of the infractions were by the property owners and not the renters. 

The regularly scheduled meeting started at 5:50PM.  The board discussed their concern with being able to combine the two proposed parcels for the Legacy Beach development so it would meet the city ordinance requirement of 5 acres.  Mr. Stevens asked what document would be provided to validate that the merging of the lots was legal.  The mayor stated a letter from the City Attorney would be the formal document.  Zan Murry, City Engineer, asked if Mr. Perry had considered other avenues to meet the acreage requirement for the 3.9 acre parcel on lake side and 4.1 acre parcel on west side; i.e. HOA.  The board also asked Mr. Murry how many homes could be built on the lake side.  He did a quick calculation and said twenty-two 7500 sq ft lots.  The board did not approve the rezoning request because a complete development plan needs to be provided to meet the ordinance requirement for a PUD.  They also want the letter from the city attorney stating the two parcels can be considered as one. Ms House also suggested Mr. Perry consider requesting rezoning to a PRUD instead of a PUD.  Because a PRUD would allow for flexibility in zoning in the future if necessary.

 The board approved the request for Water’s Edge Phase 3 proposal for commercial retail, restaurant on the main floor and multi-family residential on the second floor.

The board did not approve the parking proposed for the new business located at 75 W. Logan Rd that includes Bear Lake Cabin Rentals, Lakeview Custom Cabins office and a future restaurant until a lease agreement has been provided for the land required to meet the number of parking stalls required.