Draper may require variety of features in multifamily units

DRAPER — Row after row of townhouses have prompted the Draper City Council to step in with an ordinance that could require future developments to vary their appearance and design.

The townhouses, most of which are clustered around the Point of the Mountain and east of I-15, feature similar, garage-dominant facades with lines of driveways.

To many, they are affordable homes close to a commuter corridor. But to City Councilman Bill Colbert, the townhouses are "not a good investment for the people who are living there, and it's not good for the city. If you're looking at garage after garage after garage, it looks like a wall."

Colbert has been watching the development of the townhouse ordinance that had a public hearing Tuesday. The City Council did not vote on the ordinance but will consider it again at a future meeting, likely early in August.

"When you make guidelines, and you want to get a specific look, it really limits your potential possibilities of a lot of different projects — granted, some bad projects, but good projects, too," Zane Morris said during the public hearing. "The more flexible you can make this guideline, the more opportunities you'll have for good projects."

Yet, Colbert and other council members wanted more variety in architecture than they saw in current developments, said Eric Keck, Draper city manager.

"Our community is over 50 percent built out, and we really want to have a say and are concerned with ultimately how we're going to look when we're all grown up," Keck said. "The standards (of the ordinance) give them a level of comfort."

The proposed ordinance requires multifamily developments to have varying apartment sizes, roof heights, facades, colors and building materials. If it is passed as is, the ordinance would require framed windows on all sides of the buildings, and at least 40 percent brick, stone or faux stone on all sides. Also, rows of housing could not have more than six units.

"You should be able to tell which unit is which," said Margaret Dahl, a senior planner. "There should be some unit differentiation."

Ryan Snow, a lawyer for developer Garbett Homes, said the proposed ordinance may backfire. Garbett Homes developed nearly 200 townhouses at Chandler Pointe in Draper, among other projects.