[0:15] the Tooele City Council yes.

[0:17] Welcome, it's 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday,

[0:19] May 6th, 2026. The Tooele City Council

[0:22] and the Redevelopment Agency of Tooele

[0:23] City are meeting in a work meeting. This

[0:26] work meeting is being held at Tooele

[0:28] City Hall in the Council Chambers

[0:29] located at 90 North Main Street in

[0:31] Tooele, Utah.

[0:32] We're also streaming this electronically

[0:34] on the Tooele City YouTube channel.

[0:37] We will start with the roll call.

[0:39] Councilman Gossett. Present.

[0:40] Councilwoman Grotches.

[0:41] >> Present. Councilman McCall. Present. I'm

[0:44] Councilman Brady and I'm present and we

[0:46] anticipate Councilman Hanson will join

[0:48] us shortly.

[0:49] We'll move on to item three, which is

[0:51] the mayor's report.

[0:53] Okay, thank you, Council. I have it just

[0:55] a couple of things tonight. Uh first of

[0:57] all, we had a letter come in about our

[0:59] cemetery crew um who would they were

[1:02] this resident was searching and

[1:05] in search of a family grave and the

[1:06] pages that they were looking for are

[1:08] missing from the public book and the

[1:10] cemetery workers went and got the book

[1:12] and found all the information and took

[1:13] them to the graves they were looking for

[1:15] and they said our employees were

[1:16] wonderful and helpful and went above and

[1:18] beyond to assist. So, I think it's good.

[1:20] We hear a lot of negative. It's good to

[1:21] point out when we hear the positive. So,

[1:23] appreciative of them um helping that

[1:26] resident. And then the second item is

[1:28] about water. We've had a lot of uh

[1:30] calls. If you've all seen the news

[1:32] reports about the dire situation in

[1:35] Utah.

[1:36] Um it's

[1:38] a little bit hard to because

[1:40] the situation is not the same in every

[1:42] town in Utah as we know. So, our water

[1:45] comes from wells in the ground. Our

[1:46] wells are in good shape. They're pumping

[1:48] water. Um of course, we always want to

[1:50] be conservation minded and we want to

[1:52] encourage everybody be conservation

[1:54] minded. Even in flood years, we

[1:55] shouldn't just water to water. Um you

[1:57] know, we just because there's there we

[1:59] should always be paying attention to

[2:01] that precious resource and using it

[2:04] responsibly. So, at this point we do not

[2:06] have mandatory watering restrictions,

[2:09] but we have had some calls with

[2:11] some concern and so I'm just going to

[2:13] read you something that the public works

[2:14] department has come up with. We're going

[2:16] to publish this and this will be our

[2:18] kind of a voluntary schedule. So, Tooele

[2:21] City has the responsibility and

[2:22] privilege to provide our citizens and

[2:24] customers with water for their everyday

[2:25] needs. While the outlook for Tooele

[2:27] City's water supply is positive, it's

[2:29] not unlimited. Tooele City has adopted a

[2:31] new voluntary landscape watering

[2:33] schedule that will help even out water

[2:35] summer water pressure demands around the

[2:36] city and make for more efficient water

[2:38] use if we all do our part. For homes and

[2:41] businesses, if your address ends in an

[2:43] odd number like 13579,

[2:45] water on odd number calendar days. If

[2:48] your address ends in an even number

[2:50] 02468,

[2:52] water on even number calendar days. If

[2:54] the month has 31 days, do not water on

[2:56] the 31st.

[2:58] Just because you can water on all even

[3:00] or odd days doesn't mean that you

[3:01] should. Deep infrequent watering

[3:03] encourages strong roots. Early morning

[3:06] is ideal to reduce evaporation disease.

[3:10] And we should avoid watering midday to

[3:11] avoid evaporation and late night to

[3:13] avoid fungus growth.

[3:15] Utilize

[3:16] the conserve water Utah weekly guide for

[3:18] specific localized timing and follow the

[3:21] tips in the IFA lawn watering guide to

[3:23] avoid over-watering. More drought

[3:25] conscious conservation irrigation

[3:27] landscaping efforts will help ensure the

[3:29] quality of life we enjoy in our great

[3:31] city continues for many years to come.

[3:33] The sooner we start making these and

[3:34] other water water wise changes the

[3:35] better.

[3:36] So, we're going to publish that in our

[3:38] newsletter and that will be our our

[3:40] voluntary watering schedule for this

[3:42] summer. So, if you get questions about

[3:44] it, please refer to that or you're

[3:46] welcome to reach out to our public works

[3:48] department. They're pretty helpful. And

[3:50] we will continue doing our water

[3:51] Wednesday social media post also and we

[3:53] appreciate you sharing that information.

[3:55] It's tips to help water wisely. So,

[3:59] that's why we're doing it and we're

[4:00] trying to do the best we can to help

[4:01] educate and inform our residents. That's

[4:04] all I have.

[4:05] Thank you.

[4:06] We'll move on to item four which is the

[4:08] council members reports. We will start

[4:10] with Councilman McCaul.

[4:14] Um, I

[4:16] did a uh

[4:18] You can't hear me?

[4:20] >> [laughter]

[4:23] » I did a a ribbon cutting

[4:27] and something else I just can't remember

[4:29] what it is.

[4:30] But I know I went to the St. George

[4:33] convention.

[4:35] I was hanging out with you guys so

[4:37] You were down there? That was about it.

[4:39] Okay, thank you. Councilman Hansen.

[4:43] I did a lot of other things besides city

[4:45] things this last month but I wasn't

[4:47] around much but there was a couple citizens reach

[4:50] out about a couple things but

[4:53] I think we got them handled and

[4:55] so yeah, we're good.

[4:57] Thank you. Councilwoman Gauches.

[5:00] Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also attended

[5:02] the Utah League of Cities and Towns

[5:04] mid-year convention in St. George and

[5:06] they always present a lot of good

[5:08] information, great breakout sessions and

[5:10] I always feel like we gain a lot from

[5:12] that. Um, today I attended the Utah

[5:15] Transit Authority. I'm on the

[5:18] local authority board and we met today

[5:20] at the Salt Lake Central Station and had

[5:23] a nice tour of the facility and

[5:26] learned about FrontRunner 2 and the

[5:28] things that are coming up that that may

[5:29] have impact our county. So, good things

[5:32] are happening in transportation and they

[5:33] do affect generations. So, that

[5:35] concludes my report. Thank you.

[5:37] Councilman Gossett.

[5:39] Well, we had the opportunity to go to I

[5:42] think one of the most important things

[5:43] for

[5:44] chief to

[5:46] for the police banquet. That was really

[5:48] cool and uh

[5:50] learned a lot. I think those videos were

[5:52] pretty eye-opening at some of the things

[5:55] that you get confronted with on a daily

[5:57] basis. So,

[5:59] I'm glad I don't have your job, but it

[6:02] was it was good to go and and see that

[6:04] and support that. And I wasn't able to

[6:05] go to the St. George thing because we

[6:07] were

[6:08] walking to Wendover. So,

[6:10] not not any excuses, but probably would

[6:13] have been funner to go to St. George.

[6:16] But that's all I have.

[6:17] Thank you.

[6:19] Okay, I I was unable to attend the North

[6:21] Tooele City Special Service District

[6:23] meeting, but during that meeting they

[6:25] discussed that they will be raising tax

[6:28] incre- they will do

[6:30] truth in taxation to go through a tax

[6:32] increase. They're recommending a 35%

[6:34] increase is what it says in their

[6:35] minutes.

[6:36] So, they're going through that process.

[6:38] They were planning to do that last year,

[6:40] but they had some challenges with the

[6:43] process and so now they're they're going

[6:45] through that process this year.

[6:47] I also attended the Utah League of

[6:49] Cities and Towns conference in St.

[6:51] George. There was a lot of discussion

[6:52] about water just as the mayor had said.

[6:55] Uh the big thing that I got from that is

[6:57] that most of our water usage comes from

[7:01] outdoor [clears throat] watering and so

[7:02] we really want to encourage our

[7:03] residents to conserve where they can.

[7:07] Most residents overwater. They

[7:10] and so just really pay attention to the

[7:12] amount of water you're putting on your

[7:13] lawn. And then the police banquet, it

[7:15] was excellent. It's always fun to go to

[7:17] that and it was we had Chief Day had the

[7:20] three council members go up and

[7:22] put us in a situation where we had to

[7:26] um

[7:27] I guess

[7:29] shoot a suspect. I don't know.

[7:30] [laughter] A suspect had a a gun a a

[7:33] fake gun obviously and we had to

[7:36] be in a situation trying to decide when

[7:38] we would react to that that shooter. So,

[7:41] it it really was an

[7:42] about what police officers go through

[7:44] and not an easy job and we appreciate

[7:47] all that you and your your officers do.

[7:48] So, thank you.

[7:50] That concludes my report. We'll move on

[7:51] to our discussion items.

[7:54] Our first discussion item is a

[7:55] discussion on a proposed text amendment

[7:57] to Tooele City code title seven chapter

[7:59] four, off-street parking requirements

[8:02] regarding the establishment of specific

[8:04] parking and storage standards for

[8:05] automobile-related commercial uses,

[8:08] presented by Andrew Aagard, the

[8:09] community development director.

[8:11] Thank you, Council. Appreciate this

[8:13] opportunity to

[8:15] present a couple of ordinance amendments

[8:16] to you today.

[8:18] The first one is an amendment

[8:20] that is coming to you from the Tooele

[8:22] City Planning Commission.

[8:25] >> [clears throat]

[8:25] >> And it involves Tooele City title seven

[8:28] chapter four off-street parking

[8:31] and is regarding parking requirements

[8:33] for automobile-related commercial uses.

[8:38] The reason that this has come before you

[8:39] is over the past year the Planning

[8:41] Commission has dealt with a number of

[8:45] conditional use permits involving

[8:47] automobile dealerships and automobile

[8:49] repair businesses.

[8:51] And one of the main issues that always

[8:53] comes up is parking. How do we do

[8:56] customer parking? How do we deal with

[8:59] uh vehicle storage yards, vehicles

[9:01] awaiting repairs, vehicles being

[9:04] uh stored for display purposes and so forth.

[9:09] And currently in our code, there is no

[9:13] requirements, there's no standards,

[9:16] there's nothing in our ordinance

[9:17] regarding parking for automobile-related

[9:20] commercial activities.

[9:22] When that occurs, the ordinance actually

[9:25] delegates authority to the community

[9:27] development director

[9:29] to establish a parking standard for

[9:32] those businesses, but it doesn't give us

[9:33] any

[9:35] parameters or any guidelines that we can

[9:37] follow.

[9:38] So, what I do in this situation is I

[9:41] require these businesses to provide me

[9:43] with

[9:45] customer I'm how many customers they're

[9:47] going to have on their busiest day, how

[9:49] many how many employees do they

[9:51] anticipate on their on their busiest

[9:53] hours, how many vehicles are they going

[9:55] to require to be stored, and we try to

[9:57] establish the parking standards based

[9:59] upon the information that's provided by

[10:01] the applicant.

[10:03] The planning commission wanted to

[10:05] approach

[10:06] an ordinance amendment whereby we have

[10:08] some standards specifically set up for

[10:11] these types of uses.

[10:13] >> [clears throat]

[10:13] >> So, in your packets I provided two documents. The first one is the

[10:19] ordinance amendment that comes directly

[10:21] from the planning commission.

[10:23] Uh Commissioner Linford is the one that

[10:25] wrote this up and the planning

[10:26] commission discussed it during a

[10:27] discussion at a previous meeting. But,

[10:30] this is the ordinance that uh

[10:33] Commissioner Linford has proposed and

[10:34] the planning commission endorsed.

[10:37] They're proposing adding a new section

[10:39] to Tooele City Code 7-4-4

[10:42] automobile-related commercial uses.

[10:45] Uh section one in that code will have a

[10:47] purpose basically explaining the purpose

[10:49] of the ordinance. Why are we putting it

[10:51] in there? Why is it there?

[10:54] One of the things that it does say is to

[10:55] distinguish required parking from

[10:57] temporary or ancillary vehicle storage.

[11:01] And then they're proposing a section

[11:03] two. Section two is the portion of the

[11:06] code that would

[11:07] delineate the parking requirements for

[11:10] these types of uses.

[11:11] Automobile service and automobile parts

[11:13] and supply stores, three parking spaces

[11:16] for each service bay. So, if you have a

[11:18] Jiffy Lube or something of that nature,

[11:20] if they have three bays, they have to

[11:22] have nine parking stalls.

[11:24] And then three parking spaces for every

[11:26] 1,000 square feet of indoor retail floor

[11:29] sales area.

[11:31] So, an AutoZone or O'Reilly,

[11:34] those are the type That would be the

[11:35] parking requirement that they would have

[11:37] to adhere to.

[11:39] And then automobile sales, one customer

[11:41] parking space per 400 square feet of

[11:43] gross indoor sales area,

[11:46] or five parking spaces, whichever is

[11:49] greater.

[11:51] One of the reasons for this one is we

[11:52] want to make sure that an automobile

[11:54] dealership will have sufficient parking

[11:56] for customers

[11:57] and will not take up the entire site

[11:59] with display vehicles that are being

[12:01] sold,

[12:02] which right now our ordinance does not

[12:04] define.

[12:06] Section two also includes this table,

[12:08] which goes through pretty much the

[12:09] parking standards that I mentioned. Also

[12:11] has some language in there regarding the

[12:13] number of compact spaces allowed, which

[12:15] would be 25%.

[12:17] And then some notes and other

[12:19] requirements

[12:20] uh regarding towing services if

[12:22] provided.

[12:24] And then sections three and four,

[12:25] required parking spaces shall be

[12:27] provided in compliance with all

[12:29] applicable design. Basically, this is

[12:31] just stating that uh the parking spaces

[12:33] have to comply with the typical parking

[12:35] standards in our ordinance currently

[12:37] that we that we do currently have.

[12:40] And then number four is kind of a

[12:41] critical one. Temporary vehicle storage,

[12:43] where towing services are provided and

[12:44] related strictly to automobile repair

[12:46] services,

[12:47] a site plan shall be provided

[12:49] designating an area for temporary

[12:51] vehicle storage.

[12:52] And we do have,

[12:54] you know, auto

[12:56] automobile repair businesses are

[12:59] naturally associated with vehicle

[13:01] towing.

[13:02] Uh sometimes vehicles are not be able

[13:04] not able to be driven to a repair shop,

[13:06] so they have to be towed.

[13:08] And uh so we have to have They would

[13:09] like to have the ordinance to have some

[13:11] accommodation for that, but we also want

[13:12] to make sure that a vehicle tow lot or

[13:15] an impound lot is not the same thing.

[13:18] Uh so the ordinance kind of

[13:19] differentiates. You can have towing

[13:20] services as long as it's automatically

[13:22] associated with automobile repair

[13:25] services.

[13:26] And then the last part is such areas

[13:28] shall be paved, screened, and approved

[13:30] through site plan or conditional use

[13:32] review.

[13:33] So, right now we don't have any

[13:34] ordinances that require screening of

[13:36] these materials. We can only screen them

[13:37] through conditions attached by the

[13:39] planning commission through a

[13:40] conditional use permit.

[13:43] So, that's the ordinance as proposed by

[13:45] the planning commission.

[13:47] Uh staff has reviewed it and we've made

[13:49] a couple of minor edits to it, nothing

[13:50] significant. So,

[13:52] uh section one will be the same. Section

[13:55] two, we are proposing eliminating the

[13:57] language and just including the table.

[14:00] So, under section two, you would just

[14:01] have the table. Uh we found that the

[14:04] planning commission's version there was redundancy between the table

[14:07] and the language.

[14:08] And then the little highlighted part

[14:10] with the red, I wanted to add uh

[14:12] automobile service and repair

[14:14] and then automobile sales and rental

[14:18] uh to make sure the ordinance is clear

[14:19] on those.

[14:21] And then the the other two sections are

[14:23] exactly as the planning commission

[14:25] proposed.

[14:27] So, that's what's being proposed. I'd

[14:29] like to move this through the process

[14:31] and get the city council's

[14:32] feedback and blessing. If you have any

[14:34] concerns or questions about it, I'm

[14:37] happy to try and answer those for you.

[14:39] >> [snorts]

[14:40] >> Any questions or comments? I got a

[14:42] question. So, how does this affect

[14:45] businesses that are already

[14:48] set up? I'm I'm thinking of one in

[14:50] particular, rental car company.

[14:53] How does that affect them? Do they have

[14:55] to update to this new standard or are

[14:57] they kind of grandfathered in?

[14:59] So, anytime we pass anytime the council

[15:01] adopts a new ordinance, existing uses

[15:05] are then they then become what we call

[15:08] legally non-conforming.

[15:09] So, they are legal, but they may not

[15:11] conform to the new parameters of the

[15:13] ordinance.

[15:14] In that case, we have a code to Will

[15:16] City

[15:17] code 7-3 non-conforming uses that

[15:20] permits those uses to continue on as is

[15:22] in perpetuity. So, they would be

[15:24] unaffected. If they're going to do any

[15:26] renovations or changes, then they would

[15:28] have to conform to this new code. Okay.

[15:33] Any questions?

[15:36] I have a question about the number of

[15:38] parking. You'd said like an oil shop, if

[15:41] they had three bays, they'd have to have

[15:43] nine parking spots.

[15:45] >> That's That's what this code would

[15:46] require, yes. Does that I'm thinking of

[15:49] like a Jiffy Lube down by Walmart. It

[15:52] seems like they don't have nine parking

[15:54] spots right now, but there's rarely that

[15:56] many people in the parking lot because

[15:58] their car is being serviced, right? You

[16:00] go to this oil shop, you pull into the

[16:03] bay, so

[16:04] I guess I have a hard time understanding

[16:06] why we need so much parking for

[16:07] something

[16:09] like an oil service business.

[16:12] The only thing I could The only response

[16:14] I could give to that would be some

[16:16] people do drop off their cars.

[16:18] Um

[16:21] Yeah, I It's a number

[16:23] >> number of the commissioners threw out

[16:24] that threw out to that one, and I think

[16:26] in this case we just wanted to make sure

[16:27] there was ample parking for those

[16:29] situations. And then my other question

[16:31] is with parking as well. So,

[16:34] yeah, let me pull it up real fast. So,

[16:36] it's one customer parking space per 400

[16:39] sq ft of gross floor area in the

[16:41] automobile sales area or five parking

[16:44] spaces, whichever is greater. So, if you

[16:46] had like a 2,000 sq ft gross floor area. I don't

[16:51] know how big like a dealership is.

[16:53] I'm assuming that it's

[16:55] significantly bigger than 400 sq ft.

[16:58] >> Oh, yeah. So, they're going to have to

[17:00] have like 12 to 15 parking spots.

[17:02] >> Correct.

[17:04] Okay.

[17:04] >> Yeah, it's all related to the size of

[17:05] the of the floor area where they are

[17:07] displaying and selling merchandise.

[17:10] Okay.

[17:11] I think it seems a little excessive if

[17:13] as I think through it. I think it's more parking than they'll ever use

[17:17] is what my mind's thinking, but maybe

[17:20] I'm off on that. I think for the sales

[17:22] part, you're probably right. For the

[17:24] auto repair part, I think the parking

[17:27] is, but I think the lube places maybe

[17:30] should have an exception that's

[17:32] different because you're right. They

[17:33] don't Most people don't stay there for a

[17:35] long time. They do Some do get dropped

[17:37] off. I think Jiffy Lube has close to

[17:39] that in the back part, but still Yeah.

[17:41] They got to have their something for

[17:43] their employees, so maybe

[17:45] they do need that much because

[17:46] >> the consideration is the employees. They

[17:48] do bring their cars to work. One example

[17:51] that I can think of is I used to take my

[17:52] car to the Jiffy Lube down by Walmart.

[17:54] And I drop the car off and I go do my

[17:56] shopping.

[17:57] Well, they'd bring the car out and then

[17:58] they'd park it. And it'd be sitting

[18:00] there waiting for me until I come back.

[18:02] Right. And so that's

[18:05] I mean, there is a need for some

[18:07] vehicle parking for those situations.

[18:10] Whether whether it's excessive with

[18:12] having nine if you have three bay three

[18:13] bays,

[18:16] I don't know.

[18:17] So, years ago at a it was a Utah League

[18:20] of Cities and Town conference, they had

[18:22] a speaker from out of state come and he

[18:24] talked about how much land we waste on

[18:26] parking lots.

[18:28] And it's really made me think about the

[18:31] requirements that we have.

[18:33] The funny part is is I would rather have

[18:34] more parking spot requirements in

[18:37] residential areas cuz that's where your

[18:38] car is most of the time rather than a

[18:40] commercial area where

[18:43] you're coming and going and then at

[18:44] night it just sits there and it's it's

[18:46] land that

[18:47] we kind of waste for parking. So, it

[18:49] just made me think a little differently

[18:51] about do we really need as much parking

[18:53] as

[18:54] we require sometimes. And and that is

[18:57] That that has merit what you're

[18:59] suggesting. And and when I go to

[19:00] planning conferences,

[19:02] they are always railing on too much

[19:04] parking, having seas of parking lot

[19:06] instead of using that area for other

[19:08] amenities.

[19:09] And [snorts] it is often discussed that

[19:11] we overpark ourselves.

[19:14] Um

[19:15] I frequently visit auto parts stores. I

[19:17] have a classic car that I work on and

[19:19] maintain

[19:20] and they're never full.

[19:23] I never have problem finding parking at

[19:24] an auto parts store.

[19:27] So I see the purpose behind it. I I

[19:29] think it's needed. We need something in

[19:31] the code. I just wonder

[19:33] if there's a way to not have it so

[19:35] excessive or And you're right, the auto

[19:37] parts stores do not have a parking

[19:39] problem. It's the auto repair shops

[19:41] >> do. that have the parking problem. It

[19:43] really is that. So is that where we

[19:45] should focus though is on an auto repair

[19:48] More than

[19:49] >> But then does that get into some

[19:51] Bert Brothers for example, they do oil changes but then they do

[19:56] auto repairs as well. They It seems like

[19:57] they have sufficient parking. They have

[19:59] sufficient parking. In fact, they are

[20:00] overparked.

[20:01] >> Yeah. When when this

[20:05] when the planning commission wanted to

[20:06] move this ordinance forward

[20:08] I was surprised when they put auto parts

[20:11] retail in there because

[20:14] in my mind our ordinance already

[20:16] addresses that just under retail sales.

[20:18] I mean, there's really no difference

[20:20] between selling lumber and selling auto

[20:22] parts. It's all retail. So if the

[20:25] council wanted to just remove that auto

[20:27] parts retail from it and we just

[20:29] continue with our standard I have no

[20:31] problem with that. The the the big issue

[20:34] was

[20:35] really the dealerships and the the

[20:38] automobile repair and having sufficient

[20:40] parking for the customers and making

[20:42] sure that automobile storage areas are

[20:45] appropriately screened and so forth. So

[20:48] I'd be I think it wouldn't harm us at

[20:49] all if we removed that language and and

[20:51] just focused on the other if the council

[20:53] wanted me to proceed that way.

[20:55] So would you just remove the automobile

[20:56] parts or the supply stores as well? Is

[20:59] that part of it? Yep, just take that out

[21:01] of there.

[21:02] I favor that and I I do think that we

[21:04] have you know, we're kind of talking

[21:06] about more more um

[21:08] larger repair shops, but we do have like

[21:11] neighborhood people that have been in

[21:13] our community for years, and we want to

[21:15] be able to accommodate those cuz they've

[21:16] got repeat customers, and some of them

[21:19] have limited areas. And then they do

[21:21] park on this the streets, and maybe that

[21:23] impacts a neighbor, and you know, so I

[21:26] think that we do need to be um

[21:29] be careful of reducing

[21:32] parking. I think that parking is

[21:34] unnecessary thing, especially in this

[21:36] type of industry. It's a repeat industry

[21:38] over and over and over. Right. And I was

[21:41] getting ready to say pretty much the

[21:42] same thing that you you just said.

[21:45] Um it just

[21:47] it it kind of appears that

[21:49] the little guy

[21:50] um

[21:51] that want to open up a shop

[21:54] this ordinance is basically saying uh

[21:56] you got to get a big building, you got

[21:58] to have all this parking

[22:00] just to start. You know what I mean? And

[22:04] I'm not saying this is not a good thing

[22:06] cuz it is.

[22:08] But I think we're we are doing

[22:12] not attacking, but we're base putting

[22:14] limits on

[22:16] what a newly up

[22:19] I can't get the word out, but someone

[22:20] that wants to start a new business.

[22:23] Case in point, the one that we just

[22:25] approved on 400.

[22:27] Um that spot is not big enough that for

[22:30] what we're just talking about.

[22:32] >> Talking about, yeah. The one

[22:34] we just did a couple of weeks ago that

[22:35] just opened up on 400 and Main.

[22:38] That little spot, he would not be able

[22:40] to do that because he didn't have that

[22:42] room, especially when it comes to

[22:45] um a tow truck coming in to drop a car

[22:48] off. He didn't have that much room

[22:50] there.

[22:51] Um

[22:53] I'm just saying it. I'm not saying I'm

[22:55] against this at all. I'm just saying

[22:57] that

[22:58] it it is So, are we limiting what they

[23:00] can take in for their livelihood by not

[23:03] allowing you to park cars

[23:06] at their their establishment, you know,

[23:08] I mean that

[23:09] I don't know. That's Did that business

[23:11] need a conditional use permit? It's the

[23:13] one uh

[23:14] I think you're talking like

[23:15] >> The old Technaglass building?

[23:16] >> Yes. Yeah, it needs The conditional use

[23:19] permit that I had previous to that had

[23:21] long since expired, so they had to do it

[23:23] again.

[23:24] They do have a a back parking in there

[23:26] that maybe could covers it, but they

[23:28] don't have a lot of front Is that a Is a

[23:30] good example of Yeah, but it's very, limited.

[23:33] >> Limited parking.

[23:36] I know cuz my brake line broke and I had

[23:37] to It was the closest auto parts

[23:40] garage and I had to pull in there and

[23:43] cruise to a stop because I had no

[23:45] brakes.

[23:46] And I basically blocked his blocked his

[23:49] the back of his shop.

[23:52] Because I couldn't move it, you know,

[23:53] the truck wouldn't you know, it would

[23:55] move, but it wouldn't stop.

[23:57] >> [laughter]

[23:58] >> So, but yeah.

[24:00] He wouldn't have had that much

[24:03] No one could get When I was in there, no

[24:05] one could get in.

[24:06] You know, going back to the Jiffy Lube

[24:08] deal, with the Jiffy Lube we were

[24:10] talking about it needing nine parking

[24:11] spaces, but the way I read it, you'd

[24:13] need 12 because it's plus another three

[24:17] spots for retail the Oh, 1,000 square

[24:20] showroom part. So, you Now they've got

[24:21] 12 spots.

[24:24] That does seem like quite a bit. Yeah.

[24:27] How many bays does that old Technaglass

[24:30] have? Two. He has two bays. So, now

[24:32] you're saying they need to have six

[24:35] plus another three. So, they counting

[24:37] that as bays or or as work areas? Huh?

[24:40] Because bays you're talking counting

[24:42] that as just the two doors cuz

[24:44] Technaglass has like five working spots.

[24:46] Yeah, it's just the Well, that's a good

[24:48] question. It does. Um it doesn't it

[24:50] doesn't designate work spaces, it just

[24:52] says bays. So, I would be looking at

[24:54] that from a respect a perspective of

[24:56] doors. Yeah.

[24:58] So, in Techniglass' case, it'd be we

[25:00] would consider that two bays.

[25:02] So, that would be nine by the time you

[25:04] figure the retail space, right? Mhm.

[25:06] That's right. That little place has two

[25:08] doors that place 400. And then two in

[25:10] the back.

[25:12] Do we have another code somewhere? So,

[25:13] now we're talking about parking space,

[25:16] but then is there another code that's

[25:18] going to say their parking space has to

[25:20] be this much area and you have to have

[25:23] Once you get to so many stalls, you have

[25:25] to have an island or something that

[25:27] separates it and Yeah, we already have

[25:29] that code established. That's that's

[25:31] 7-4-7.

[25:34] And it specifies parking stall width and

[25:36] length, specifies landscape end caps.

[25:39] If you have certain number of parking

[25:41] stalls, you may have to have an island,

[25:43] which can detract from the number of

[25:45] parking spaces.

[25:47] I think I'm I'm worried about this. I

[25:50] really am. I think it's opening up a a

[25:52] bigger issue than

[25:55] I think we need to look into it more,

[25:56] right? About

[25:58] the unintended

[26:00] consequences that it's going to have.

[26:03] The other option, and maybe this is why

[26:04] it was established this way in the first

[26:06] place,

[26:07] is leave it alone and leave it up to the

[26:09] community development director to take

[26:10] it on a case-by-case basis.

[26:13] Um it has worked well.

[26:16] I can't say that it hasn't worked well.

[26:17] It's

[26:18] it works. It's it's functioned up to

[26:21] this point and maybe that's the best way

[26:22] to deal with these situations.

[26:25] So, I can think of a few locations where

[26:27] I think it would be appropriate to have

[26:29] a minimum requirement, but

[26:32] as they do go through that process, the

[26:34] conditional use permitting process where

[26:37] the purpose of that is to resolve these

[26:39] issues, so

[26:40] >> Yeah, and and the planning commission is

[26:41] very good at that. They look at it all the potential

[26:44] impacts that are generated by the

[26:46] business and they try to attach

[26:47] conditions.

[26:48] Uh with the Techniglass, they were very

[26:50] sensitive to the fact that um

[26:54] being on that corner,

[26:55] it's a very busy corner, and uh there

[26:57] are very limited parking in the front,

[26:59] so they attached conditions that the

[27:00] parking in the front of the building has

[27:02] to be reserved for customer parking.

[27:05] And so,

[27:06] you know, there are advantages to having

[27:08] some flexibility to looking at things at

[27:10] a case-by-case basis, which is what the

[27:12] way the ordinance is currently

[27:14] structured.

[27:16] So.

[27:17] is this ordinance just for

[27:20] the commercial buildings, or is this for

[27:23] the home-based as well? So, it would

[27:25] just be for commercial businesses.

[27:27] Currently, the ordinance prohibits auto

[27:30] repair as a home-based business. You

[27:32] can't do it.

[27:33] So, if there are other If there are

[27:35] existing businesses, they of course

[27:37] would be grandfathered, but this would

[27:39] not apply to those residential uses

[27:41] because you technically they're

[27:42] prohibited by the ordinance.

[27:49] Any more discussion, or how do we want

[27:51] to move forward is the next question. Do

[27:53] we want to see a revised plan? Do we

[27:55] want to just

[27:58] Well, do we do we I mean, Andrew's got a

[28:01] point that

[28:02] him doing that, but do we need to have

[28:04] any kind of guidelines for you, or are

[28:05] you good with what you have? No, we

[28:07] handle it well. I mean, we we usually

[28:09] get the information from the applicant,

[28:11] and then the planning commission deals

[28:13] with it well during the conditional use

[28:14] permit hearing.

[28:15] Um I'm good with it just staying like

[28:17] that. I mean, I really am. We've just

[28:19] been looking at a lot of these, and they they were questioning whether or

[28:22] not we should have some established

[28:23] standards to

[28:25] make it a little more concrete, but like

[28:26] I said,

[28:28] every new ordinance opens up a can of

[28:29] worms one way or another. So, it seems

[28:31] like it. I've learned that. unintended

[28:33] things sometimes.

[28:34] >> unintended un- unintended consequences.

[28:37] Yeah.

[28:38] Me, personally,

[28:40] I I'm I'm okay either way, but but I

[28:42] would

[28:43] like for them to um

[28:46] review it again with the that we just

[28:49] raised.

[28:49] >> Okay.

[28:50] I was planning on putting it on the next

[28:52] agenda for planning commission.

[28:54] Just uh

[28:55] it was going to do the public hearing,

[28:56] but we're not we're not ready for that

[28:57] at this point. I'd be happy to put it on

[28:59] there and discuss it further with them,

[29:01] get their feedback, and

[29:03] uh we're not in a we're not in a hurry

[29:04] to get this done, so we can take our

[29:06] time on it and decide if we want to do

[29:07] it or not.

[29:08] Cuz I think that would

[29:10] let that would help us more input, and

[29:13] maybe they can ask some more questions.

[29:16] >> They have They have lots of good ideas

[29:17] over there, so Yeah, they do. They

[29:18] really do.

[29:19] Yeah, we appreciate them suggesting

[29:21] ideas, so Mhm. Okay. Excellent

[29:24] discussion. Appreciate that.

[29:26] Okay.

[29:27] We'll move on to our next discussion, uh

[29:29] discussion on a proposed city code text

[29:31] amendment to Tooele City code 7-14-11,

[29:35] landscaping and water conservation with

[29:37] new development regarding the use of sod

[29:39] in residential landscaping, and the use

[29:41] of irrigation systems associated with

[29:43] residential landscaping.

[29:44] >> [clears throat]

[29:44] >> by Andrew Aagard, the community

[29:46] development director. Thank you,

[29:48] council.

[29:50] So, if you recall a couple of years ago,

[29:51] we we went through a pretty significant

[29:53] ordinance amendment where we changed the

[29:55] ordinance requirements for landscaping

[29:58] in residential, commercial, and

[29:59] industrial zones.

[30:01] Essentially limiting the use of sod.

[30:03] Basically in in commercial and

[30:05] industrial, you can't use sod.

[30:07] Um

[30:08] in

[30:09] residential, we limited it to 50% of the

[30:12] front yard, and in multi-family residential, you can

[30:16] only use sod in areas with active

[30:17] recreation.

[30:19] And then the ordinance prohibited sod in

[30:21] the park strip, period.

[30:24] And the ordinance that we have on the

[30:26] books, Mayor Manzione pointed out some

[30:27] language in here that's a little

[30:29] confusing,

[30:30] and uh we wanted to go through the

[30:32] process of cleaning up this little code,

[30:35] and

[30:36] we're not really changing anything with

[30:38] these ordinance amendments. We're just

[30:39] trying to to the code a little easier to

[30:41] understand and eliminate some of the

[30:43] ambiguities. I hope you can see what's

[30:44] underneath that red area.

[30:47] But, I've highlighted the areas that are

[30:49] problematic.

[30:50] In uh section number one,

[30:53] the area says, "And areas on the lot

[30:55] less than 8 ft in width."

[30:58] This creates problems with section

[30:59] number two, saying that you can use sod

[31:02] 50% of your side yards and your front

[31:04] yard.

[31:06] The R17 zone is our most uh

[31:10] pre-predominant zoning district, and you

[31:13] can have 6-ft side yards in that zone.

[31:15] And if we go with this,

[31:18] it's stating you can't put sod in your

[31:19] side yard.

[31:21] And so, I want to eliminate that. So,

[31:23] somebody wants to use sod in their side

[31:24] yard, they can, as long as they don't

[31:26] exceed the 50%. And you we can eliminate

[31:28] that ambiguity.

[31:30] In section two, it says, "Which has at

[31:32] least 250 sq ft of total landscaped

[31:34] area." I'm not entirely sure why that's

[31:37] in there. The smallest lot that the city

[31:40] has

[31:41] for single-family residential is 7,000

[31:43] sq ft.

[31:45] You're going to have a lot more than 250

[31:46] sq ft of landscaping.

[31:48] And so, I just wanted to remove that,

[31:50] stating that all lots

[31:52] uh that have received preliminary plan approval after April

[31:56] 1st, 2023,

[31:58] uh can have no more than 50% of the

[32:00] front and side yards landscaped

[32:02] as natural grass.

[32:04] And then, the last sentence, where it

[32:05] says, "Where irrigation is needed for

[32:07] plantings outside of lawn areas shall be

[32:09] of a drip style irrigation system."

[32:11] That's just worded a little strangely.

[32:14] So, these are the amendments that we're

[32:15] proposing.

[32:17] Number one, to add to remove the areas

[32:19] on lot less than 8 ft in width.

[32:22] To strike the 250 sq ft

[32:25] uh language, and then just to reword

[32:28] some of the things. You will note that

[32:31] we did put a change in there regarding

[32:33] artificial turf.

[32:35] Now, the planning commission

[32:36] questioned staff on this and and staff

[32:38] was not prepared at that time to address

[32:41] our concerns the way I wanted to.

[32:43] Uh the reason why we are recommending

[32:45] that we

[32:47] limit the use of artificial turf in a in

[32:49] a landscaped area

[32:52] is there are some

[32:55] >> [snorts]

[32:55] >> ripple effects that come with using

[32:57] artificial turf. Number one,

[32:59] they're they haven't perfected

[33:01] artificial turf to be cool.

[33:04] I mean, you can run water pipe like

[33:05] sports fields, they run water pipes

[33:07] underneath it and it'll keep it cool.

[33:09] But, it absorbs heat and it gets very

[33:11] hot. So, if somebody's entire yard is

[33:14] turf,

[33:15] it could serve to increase the heat

[33:18] island effect. I mean, it gets very hot

[33:20] under direct sunlight.

[33:21] The other issue is it's not permeable

[33:24] for storm water. So, if somebody covers

[33:26] their whole yard in AstroTurf or

[33:28] artificial turf,

[33:30] are we creating flooding issues on the

[33:32] adjacent properties?

[33:34] They come right straight to the city and

[33:35] complain, causes problems.

[33:37] And so, we wanted to limit that to 50%

[33:40] to try and mitigate some of those issues

[33:42] and limit it to

[33:44] being more of a decorative

[33:47] uh aspect for front yard side yard

[33:49] landscaping. The Planning Commission

[33:50] wanted it to be If somebody wants to do

[33:53] their whole yard, that's that's up to

[33:54] the person.

[33:56] And then the last sentence is just

[33:57] changing it so it it's a little easier

[33:59] to understand.

[34:01] Uh this is the ordinance after the edits

[34:04] have been done.

[34:06] I don't know if you want me to read it

[34:06] or not, but

[34:08] that's uh the the last sentence

[34:10] especially is the irrigation needed for

[34:11] plantings outside of lawn areas shall be

[34:13] of the drip style irrigation system.

[34:15] Much easier to understand.

[34:18] Uh just to mention, the Planning

[34:19] Commission did did hear this at the

[34:22] April 22nd meeting.

[34:24] Uh they did recommend it in favor if of

[34:25] a of the ordinance amendment with a

[34:27] couple of changes. I have reflected

[34:29] those changes here, so this is the

[34:31] Planning commission edits.

[34:32] They wanted me to move the approved

[34:34] after April 1st, 2023

[34:38] uh to the chapter heading.

[34:40] >> [snorts]

[34:40] >> And then

[34:42] um also remove the language regarding limitations on

[34:47] the use of turf.

[34:49] Uh so, those are the proposals we're

[34:50] making. Again, not not many there's

[34:52] nothing really substantially changing

[34:54] here other than the turf. It's just more

[34:56] of a

[34:57] let's clean up this ordinance.

[34:59] If you have any questions, I'm happy to

[35:00] answer them for you.

[35:03] This is on your business meeting later

[35:04] tonight as well. So.

[35:06] >> [clears throat]

[35:06] >> I'm glad you explained that

[35:08] turf thing because,

[35:10] you know, I know Ed and I were sitting

[35:11] in there and listening to it and I understood where he was coming from,

[35:16] but I also didn't know the answers as to

[35:18] why.

[35:20] So, it's good to get the

[35:21] >> Yeah, that's That was one of the main

[35:22] concerns is is the heat.

[35:25] I mean, if you've ever stepped on an

[35:26] athletic field that's turf during the

[35:27] summer, it's 150°.

[35:30] And that's going to radiate on under the

[35:32] house and it's going to increase It's

[35:34] just hot.

[35:35] They do have mechanisms to cool it, but

[35:37] you have to run water through the pipes

[35:38] underneath it and it's expensive to do

[35:40] that. I don't think most residential

[35:41] property owners are going to do that.

[35:44] Um

[35:45] you know, it looks okay. We have I have

[35:47] some neighbors that have used it in

[35:49] their front yard. It looks nice.

[35:51] You have to vacuum it. You don't mow it,

[35:53] you vacuum it.

[35:55] Um

[35:57] I don't know, it just says having

[35:59] There's just some issues there that we

[36:00] just want to be aware of if we're going

[36:02] to let them do the whole yard.

[36:04] So, this is for new development,

[36:06] correct?

[36:07] Is there anything that stops someone

[36:10] from putting in sod after the

[36:13] development's completed? Like into a

[36:15] park strip?

[36:19] Code enforcement.

[36:21] I mean, really, that's what it comes

[36:22] down to. And

[36:25] our code enforcement department is

[36:26] pretty busy right now. But we could go

[36:28] into a a development that was built

[36:30] after 2023 and let's say someone put in

[36:33] sod in their park strip and we know it

[36:35] was prohibited at the time. We could go

[36:38] ask them to remove it and say you're

[36:41] in violation of the ordinance.

[36:43] >> Yes, we could. Okay. Yep. Cuz I think I

[36:45] think we do need to get to a point where

[36:47] we don't have sod in really any park

[36:49] strip in the community and

[36:52] the only way to start doing that, right,

[36:53] is to stop it from happening to begin

[36:56] with, but we have to make sure that

[36:58] they're not

[36:59] doing it after the development, so.

[37:01] Yeah, we're trying to send out a a a a

[37:04] postcard

[37:05] uh with every building permit

[37:07] basically explaining this ordinance to

[37:09] new new homes that are coming in

[37:12] and um

[37:13] trying to educate these people or these

[37:15] new homeowners uh with the limitations

[37:18] on sod in their yards.

[37:20] I- I- It is a difficult enforcement

[37:22] issue because we are limited in the

[37:24] number of staff that we have to do this,

[37:26] but um

[37:28] we could enforce it if we wanted to go around and enforce

[37:31] it, we could.

[37:33] Okay.

[37:34] I got a really

[37:36] dumb question.

[37:37] So, back in the day there'd be the

[37:39] rounded up curbs and then the sidewalk

[37:42] went right from there, so there wasn't a

[37:44] park strip.

[37:46] Why did we start doing park strips?

[37:48] hold utilities. Okay.

[37:52] Yep.

[37:52] >> So, that's why the

[37:53] >> of a lot of there's buried utilities.

[37:54] Usually, I believe it's the water line

[37:56] and

[37:57] electrical.

[37:59] Paul, what what utilities we put in park

[38:00] strips typically? Well, we we typically

[38:03] put them behind the sidewalk.

[38:05] The primary purpose for the the park

[38:07] strip started to become a

[38:09] >> [snorts]

[38:13] » In some of the older neighborhoods, they

[38:14] are in the park strip.

[38:17] We try to not put them there anymore

[38:19] because that's where we plant trees.

[38:21] Mhm. And we don't want the tree root

[38:22] conflict with utilities in there.

[38:25] But the park strip is beneficial to the

[38:27] city because one it keeps the pedestrian

[38:29] away from the road.

[38:30] It's safe for that regard and two it

[38:33] gives a place for snow to go when they

[38:35] plow the streets rather than onto the

[38:36] sidewalk.

[38:38] So it it really has a number of

[38:40] different reasons.

[38:42] In new developments we put the utilities

[38:44] then behind the sidewalk but we like

[38:46] that park strip. Remember when we used

[38:48] to get snow? I should say. When we were

[38:50] kids. Yeah.

[38:52] But it but it also protects the

[38:55] public. Keeps them away from the street

[38:56] a little bit.

[39:00] My parents live in a house that doesn't

[39:02] have a park strip and yeah the snow it

[39:04] gets pushed right on the sidewalk and in

[39:06] a big snowstorm it takes you a week to

[39:09] clear it so

[39:10] it's definitely needed. I just don't

[39:12] think we want sod.

[39:14] And then I think we have I thought we

[39:15] passed an ordinance that you can't plant

[39:17] a tree in certain park strips, Kurt.

[39:19] Yeah, if a park strip's narrower than 5

[39:21] ft you can't plant a tree. If it's 5 to

[39:24] 8 ft it has to be a small size tree

[39:27] and if it's a large tree it has to be 8

[39:28] ft or wider.

[39:30] Yeah, that's the street tree selection

[39:32] list.

[39:36] Any more discussion?

[39:39] Okay, I think it's a good change. I

[39:41] think we're moving in the right

[39:42] direction. We're getting there little by

[39:44] little. Thank you, council. Thanks,

[39:46] Andrew.

[39:47] Okay, that concludes our discussion

[39:49] items. There's nothing for closed

[39:51] meeting tonight so

[39:53] our next item is to adjourn at 6:09 p.m.

[39:57] and then we will reconvene at 7:00 p.m.

[39:59] starting with the in RDA meeting.

Tooele City Council Work Meeting May 6, 2026

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