Multifamily developments may be required to have more amenities

EPHRAIM—The Ephraim City Council is considering requiring amenities, such as playgrounds, benches and firepits, in all new multifamily developments.

The council reviewed a proposal for requiring such amenities at a meeting March 4. At the same meeting, the council considered concepts for a short-term rental ordinance governing units, such as AirBnBs, that are rented for fewer than 30 days. The council also approved industrial zoning on 56 acres in Ephraim Crossing.

City Planner Megan Spurling said the city staff was looking for input from the council before putting the amenity requirement or short-term rental regulations into ordinance form. If approved by the council, the ordinances would only apply to new developments. Existing multifamily projects and short-term rentals would be “grandfathered” in.

“In a lot of these multifamily developments, developers try to get in as many units as possible,” Spurling explained. Recently, she said, neighbors in the vicinity of 200 West and 100 North expressed concern about the potential impact of a 34-unit project going in in their neighborhood.

A few years ago, the area was the site of a mobile home park that the city threatened to shut down because of health and safety issues. Ultimately, a Hispanic entrepreneur redeveloped the park into attractive, single-level apartments.

There are a lot of children in the area, and residents expressed concern that sometimes they play in the road, Spurling said. The residents have been concerned that the additional apartments would exacerbate the problem.

The developers involved “were wonderful to work with,” Spurling said. “They took out some units and put in some green space—they called it a tot lot—a little park with a pavilion and some benches. We don’t always get that lucky. So we would just like something that requires developers to be more thoughtful.”

Currently, all multifamily projects are required to landscape 20 percent of their land area. The staff proposal is to require projects to devote an additional 10 percent of their land to amenities.

Developments with fewer than 10 units would be required to work amenities into the 20 percent of their properties devoted to landscaping.
Spurling said the city staff would provide a list of appropriate amenities. Such features, she said, could range from clubhouses and pickleball courts to playgrounds, firepits and benches.

She said the city would be looking for “some simple amenities that can help the residents…have more of a community. We’re not looking for anything extravagant.”

Regarding short-term rentals, “we want to make sure, as Ephraim continues to grow, we have an…ordinance in place so we don’t run into problems like St. George and Kanab” have had, she said.

The basic provision of a short-term rental ordinance, Spurling suggested, would be a requirement that the owner of the property involved obtain a business license. “You can’t rent from someone and turn it into an AirBnB. You’ve got to be the owner of the unit.”

The short-term rental unit or home must have a local property manager whose name is included on the business license and who is available to respond to concerns or complaints. The owner or manager would also be required to collect transient room tax on each rental, some of which would go to the city.

There would be a limit on the number of short-term rentals in a given residential area. In subdivisions, condominium projects, townhome developments and planned unit developments, no more than 10 percent of the units could be licensed as short-term rentals.

The Ephraim Crossing rezoning reflected a commitment the developer, the Camino Verde Group, made years ago when the development was getting started.

The developers purchased land from the city that the city had intended to develop into an industrial park. In return, Camino Verde agreed to include space for industry in Ephraim Crossing.

The land involved, which was formerly zoned for agriculture, is located between 600 and 800 West and between Larsen Lane and Nelson Lane. It abuts property just outside Ephraim Crossing that Soapcreek Inc. has acquired for a manufacturing plant.

The site is close to the Sanpete County Regional Airport protection zone. The industrial zoning “matches our master plan and protects the airport,” Spurling said.

Mike Ballard, managing partner of the Casino Verde Group said his company plans to develop an industrial park already has a prospective tenant who would build a large facility. He said his company is also considering building a structure consisting of smaller “incubator” sites where entrepreneurs could launch small businesses.