The Salt Lake City Planning Commission gave a thumbs up on a proposed rezoning that could lead to three for-rent housing units being built behind a historically significant fourplex in the Lower Avenues.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously last week to recommend approving a rezone petition for a property at 128 N. N St. from special development residential district (SR-1A) to low-density multi-family residential (RMF-30). The commission recommended approval to the City Council with one condition: that the City Council confirm that a two-bedroom unit qualifies as a family-sized unit, which would meet a public benefit requirement.
Alicia Seeley, a principal planner for the city who presented the rezone request, said the proposal has changed several times, as it initially started with a proposal to rezone the lot to R-MU-35 and for five new units. However, the plan has now been pared down to three units — all of which would be two-bedroom units with garage parking on the first floor. All three units would be rentals.
The proposal initially called for the five units to have zero side yard setbacks, but it was revised after a public comment period and city staff feedback, Seeley said. It then changed to four units in an RMF-30 zone, which knocked the maximum height down to 30 feet and required a 10-foot setback.
A day before the presentation to the Planning Commission, Seeley said planning staff found an error in previous calculations for the allowed number of units for the lot under RMF-30 — leading to the total units being reduced to three.
If approved by the City Council, the plan would demolish two garages in the rear of the fourplex to make way for housing. It’s unclear how much square footage each unit would contain, as updated plans for the three units were not included in the presentation to the commission.
The fourplex building is flanked by a 10-unit, 30-foot tall condo building to the south, with which it shares a driveway and easement. Six newly finished luxury townhomes are to the north, which are 35-feet tall. The new nearby townhomes were rezoned to R-MU-35 in 2020 and sit on the former site of a gas station.
Seeley noted the new townhomes were completed late last year and are still vacant, at least as far as she could tell. Public notices were sent to the townhomes and were returned because no one lived in the units, Seeley said. She added that neighbors complained to the city that the townhomes were not compatible with the neighborhood and listing prices were unattainable — well into the seven-figure range.
Jim Jenkin, the land use chair of the Greater Avenues Community Council, said the updated proposal is a great improvement from the initial five-unit plan.
However, he said he was concerned that current fourplex residents would no longer have secure parking, as the proposal would eliminate the garages to make way for the housing units. A resident of the condo building to the south told the commission she is worried condo residents wouldn’t have enough room to get in and out of their parking spaces if the construction is approved.
With the Planning Commission approval, the building proposal will go to the Historic Landmark Commission for review, as the fourplex has a historical designation. The building is located in a Historic Preservation Overlay District and is an eligible structure. Though the fourplex would not be altered as part of the project, the Historic Landmark Commission still must hear the proposal.
If approved there, the project would then go to the City Council for final approval.
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