Zoning Text Amendment
Significant Water Consuming Land Uses Text Amendment
Petition Number: PLNPCM2021-00635 Significant Water Consuming Land Uses Text Amendment
Location: Citywide
Code Section: Title 21A.33, 21A.62
12/20/2021 Update: The City council adopted the proposed ordinance as Ordinance No. 69 of 2021 on December 7th, 2021. The adopted ordinance prohibits new land uses or expansions of land uses that will exceed an annual average of 200,000 gallons of water per day. The ordinance can be accessed from this link.
9/28/2021 Update: This text amendment proposal was heard by the Planning Commission on September 22nd2021. The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the proposal. The staff report with the latest version of the proposed ordinance can be downloaded here. The information on this webpage reflects the original draft of the proposal. Please refer to the staff report for the latest version of the proposal.
The proposal will next be scheduled for a public hearing with the City Council. A public hearing date has not yet been set. Information on City Council agendas and how to participate in City Council public hearings can be found on the City Council webpage.
Project Description: The Mayor has initiated a petition to amend the zoning ordinance regulations pertaining to land use that use significant amounts of water in the City. The ordinance is intended to do the following:
- Prohibit new land uses that would likely consume more than an annual average of 300,000 gallons of water per day;
- Restrict the expansion of existing land use types that consume more than an annual average of 300,000 gallons of water per day; and
- Amend definitions and land use tables to clarify that “bottling plant” includes the filling of various container forms with a liquid product generated from culinary water, and is further, prohibited city-wide. The amendments will continue to allow for small scale alcohol beverage production.
As part of the proposed amendments, the Planning Division will also review other existing land use regulations for potential revisions to mitigate demands on the City’s water supply.
Further details regarding the intent and scope of the application can be found in the petition initiation memo in the “Additional Information” section below.
The City has prepared a draft ordinance. Through the public and City Staff review process this draft will be further revised. The draft ordinance can be accessed below.
Proposed Draft Text
The proposal as drafted currently affects the Land Use Table (21A.33) section of the Zoning Ordinance, however, the draft may change as the code is further evaluated and other sections of the Zoning Ordinance may be affected.
- View Draft Ordinance (showing proposed text changes)
Review Criteria
The City’s Planning Staff will review the proposal against adopted policies and regulations and provide a recommendation to the Planning Commission. The below are criteria used to analyze a proposed zoning text amendment:
- Whether a proposed text amendment is consistent with the purposes, goals, objectives, and policies of the City as stated through its various adopted planning documents;
- Whether a proposed text amendment furthers the specific purpose statements of the zoning ordinance;
- Whether a proposed text amendment is consistent with the purposes and provisions of any applicable overlay zoning districts which may impose additional standards; and
- The extent to which a proposed text amendment implements best current, professional practices of urban planning and design.
Additional Information
- Draft Ordinance (showing proposed text changes)
Next Steps
- The Planning Division is in the process of obtaining public comment on this proposal to help identify concerns and issues from the public.
- The proposed draft may change to take into consideration public and City Staff input.
- After the 45 day early engagement process, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council.
- The City Council will hold a public hearing and will make a final decision on the zoning text amendment application. The City Council public hearing will be scheduled at a future date.
Public Comments and Questions
The public comment period closed on August 22 , 2021. For additional information on this project please contact the staff planner.
Daniel Echeverria // daniel.echeverria@slcgov.com // 801-535-7165
Public comments can still be provided up until the date of the Planning Commission public hearing, which will be scheduled following the end of the formal 45-day comment period.
During and following this comment period, the Planning Division will evaluate the proposal against the applicable zoning standards, taking into consideration public comments as they relate to the standards, and develop a recommendation for the Planning Commission.