Millcreek planners weigh new rules for McMansions - Dispute » Proposal has drawn fire from leading advocates on both sides.
By Jeremiah Stettler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Millcreek » The protracted battle over mega-homes in Millcreek is intensifying as township planners pitch their proposed rules for bridling big houses in this east-side suburb.
It's the latest attempt to strike a balance between property owners who want to replace their decades-old bungalows with multi-level McMansions and neighbors who fret that builders will reshape their skylines, snug too close to property lines and decrease their home values.
Gary Cornum stands in front of his Milcreek home Monday. Cornum is fighting a proposed ordinance to restrict McMansions in Millcreek, saying the restrictions are too rigid. (Jim Urquhart/The Salt Lake Tribune)
The proposed rules blend black-and-white restrictions on building height, lot coverage and property setbacks with a grayer (and perhaps more flexible) code that allows for larger homes, so long as they are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.
A fair balance? Time will tell for this midvalley township of 65,000 people that stretches from the Jordan River to the eastern foothills. But the proposal already has drawn fire from leading advocates on both sides: one arguing that the rules don't go far enough, the other countering that they go too far.
"We need this infusion of investment -- this infusion of families and children -- to keep this community viable," insists Canyon Rim homeowner Gary Cornum. Make some minor tweaks to the building code, "but not sweeping changes like what has been proposed."
Cornum, who represents a community coalition known as Responsible Renewal that opposes stricter standards, built his home less than a decade ago. His house isn't extravagant -- about 2,000 square feet above ground -- but Cornum says the new rules probably would have frowned on it. It's too tall, for one thing, and too close to the edge of his property.
But homes like his boost the tax base, he says, and attract families that may not settle in a 900-square-foot brick bungalow. He worries that more restrictive (and more complicated) building codes will discourage developers and lead to neighborhoods with fewer long-term families and more rental units.
Trouble is, builders are dreaming too big. So argues the BuildWise coalition, which has lobbied the county for more rigid restrictions. The proposed rules are promising, they say, but may not be enough.
The Millcreek Planning Commission "has made a good start and worked hard on it," says BuildWise spokeswoman and homeowner Lucy Jordan. "But, as we have said all along, the devil is in the details."
She fears the new standards -- which would allow builders to increase the size of their homes based on average heights and setbacks already in a neighborhood -- could allow homes that obstruct views, block sunlight, reduce backyard privacy and lead to a decline in property values.
"We are still evaluating whether, and to what extent, the guidelines in the proposal would actually accomplish the goal of protecting privacy and ensuring that homes that are built or rebuilt in the neighborhood are proportional with other homes," Jordan says. But, at this point, "we are very concerned that it doesn't go far enough."
The Millcreek Planning Commission will meet Feb. 19 with representatives of the township's four community councils to determine whether the rules strike the proper balance between those competing property rights. A public hearing will follow sometime this spring. Ultimately, the Salt Lake County Council would have to approve any ordinance.
Planning Commission Chairman Gary Sackett hopes the community soon may resolve this longstanding debate. Does the criticism on both sides discourage him? Not really.
"If everybody goes away mad," he muses, "then maybe we are where we ought to be."
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What's next
The Millcreek Planning Commission will meet Feb. 19 with the east-side township's four community councils about proposed rules for mega-homes.
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