Council and planners weigh tiered parking rules for downtown apartments, design standards for Main Street
September 7, 2021, 4:00 p.m. · American Fork City Hall, 31 N. Church St.
In a joint session with the Planning Commission, American Fork leaders discussed replacing the CC-1 downtown zone's flat 2.25 parking stalls per unit with a tiered standard based on bedrooms or unit size, plus limited reductions for permanent features like shared parking. Staff cited a Hales Engineering study averaging about 1.6 stalls per unit in comparable projects; Councilmember Rob Shelton warned lower parking would mean more density. Architects Steve Goodwin and Steve Cornell urged downtown design guidelines and a landmarks commission.
From the approved minutes.
Decisions at a glance
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| CC-1 zone parking requirements | Discussed |
| CC-1 zone architectural design elements | Discussed |
Agenda, item by item
Item 1 · City code
CC-1 zone parking requirements
Discussed
City Administrator David Bunker said American Fork scores 34 for walkability and 19 for transit; a Hales Engineering peer review of the Lake City Flats study found average demand of about 1.59-1.67 stalls per unit versus the city's 2.25 standard. Staff proposed codified, conditional reductions tied to development agreements. Planning Commissioner Christine Anderson listed permanent criteria (shared parking, transit access, grocery access, unit size, bedrooms, bike storage); Councilmembers Shelton and Carroll favored tiers by bedrooms or square footage; Councilmember Hunter wanted a hard minimum. Shelton urged decoupling density from parking and setting density caps. The lowest the Planning Commission had negotiated was 1.8. Staff will bring options to the Planning Commission first.
- Current standard: 2.25 stalls/unit
- Connection: Councilmember Carroll said her husband was involved with the micro-apartment project that prompted the discussion and asked when she needed to declare a conflict
Item 2 · City code
CC-1 zone architectural design elements
Discussed
Resident architect Steve Goodwin (FFKR Architects) and historic architect Steve Cornell presented downtown revitalization examples (Helper, Ogden's 25th Street, Brigham City), warned against UDOT widening Main Street, and urged scale-appropriate three-to-four-story buildings, design guidelines, a landmarks commission, historic tax credits and state Main Street and Certified Local Government grants (up to $20,000 a year). Shelton favored a form-based code for downtown like the TOD's.