A split council approved rezoning a single-family home to higher-density townhouses despite concerns neighbors raised about safety, parking congestion and how it would impact the character of the Sandy suburb.

The 4-3 vote on March 10 allows a homeowner to add a duplex and a fourplex on her 0.65-acre plot near 8600 South and 1000 East. The applicant plans on living in her home and hopes the townhomes will make it easier for her to remain in Sandy.

“She’s getting later in years and wanted to do something where she didn’t need to maintain so much property and such a big house,” Josh Becker, a representative of the homeowner, told the council at a meeting on March 3.

The rezone includes a requirement that the applicant list the newly constructed dwellings for sale. Sandy lawmakers included the stipulation to increase the chances that the townhomes will be owner-occupied. 

Boosting homeownership is a top priority in the council’s recently ratified housing policy framework, which aims to address housing shortages while maintaining the character of Sandy’s single-family communities.

Residents living in the suburban neighborhood, however, expressed fears that the increased density would change the fabric of the suburb.

“There has been many of us neighbors who have spoken out against this rezone to try and preserve this area that has grown into this single-family neighborhood over the past 40 years,” Shannon Maynard said during a public hearing leading up to the council’s vote. “This type of rezone would not only double the density of what this area has grown into and developed into, but it completely changes the look and overall character of this neighborhood.”

Neighbor Miriam Tucker shared similar concerns, adding that she’s worried the rezone “sets a precedent for other little pieces of property” to be built in the neighborhood, creating “a hodge-podge community of rentals among single-family dwellings, which we do not want that to happen. We want to try to keep it as single-family homes.”

Tucker also raised safety concerns that the townhomes would create a parking bottleneck.

“This adds more vehicles and possibly parking on the street, which creates a problem for people trying to back out of their homes and children crossing the street trying to go to the other side,” she said.

Councilmember Alison Stroud echoed the residents' concerns and opposed the rezoning due to the development’s high density.

“I’m not comfortable with this…It’s more dense than those really nice single-family homes across the street on 10th East,” she said.

“It’s a mix and match, and it doesn’t look good,” Stroud added.

Council chair Brooke D’Sousa, however, does not think the rezone will change the character of the suburb since the street already has an inconsistent mix of single-family homes and duplexes.

Renderings of the townhomes. (Courtesy of Sandy)

 “I think it is hard to make an argument for what would be considered continuous or provide continuity with the surrounding area because of the mismatch that exists currently,” the council chair said.

Still, D’Sousa said the extra driveways provide her “with a little bit of hesitation and discomfort, especially with thinking about safety and some of the issues that arises with some of the traffic that 10th East sees.” 

Despite her concerns, D’Sousa voted in favor of the rezone with the added stipulation that the subdivisions will be put up for sale. Other Sandy legislators echoed the need to incentivize homeownership, but also emphasized the applicants’ desire to stay in their community.

“The way I am seeing this project is that the intent of the developer is to make single-family living a reality on a tiny little footprint of a lot, which may not be what everybody wants, but it is something we need in Sandy,” Councilmember Marci Houseman said before the vote.

“I think that is the intent of the property owner,” Houseman later added. “She wants to stay in Sandy, she wants to live in one of these units, she wants to have neighbors who are now able to be homeowners I think that intent is good so I know it’s hard and I know it’s not what some of you are hoping to hear, but I think that’s where I’m landing on this.”