Council approves conceptual site plan and PDO for Porter Lane Estates at 522 West 400 South

Centerville — The Centerville City Council on Aug. 5 approved a conceptual site plan and a zoning map amendment to apply a Plan Development Overlay (PDO) for an application called Porter Lane Estates at 522 West 400 South. The approvals allow a six-lot single-family subdivision under the RMPDO rezone, with council action contingent on the conditions listed in the staff report and findings cited by consultants.

Why it matters: The PDO grants flexibility from standard development requirements for lot size, frontage, front-yard setbacks and buildable area in exchange for site design features. Council and staff emphasized public-safety and circulation concerns — particularly fire access, parking and snow storage — and sought assurances the proposal meets fire and public-works standards.

What was approved: Planning staff said the 1.4-acre site is currently zoned Residential Medium and that the current zoning permit the proposed density; the PDO primarily changes lot configuration and allows several variations from development standards. The planning commission held a public hearing, heard questions from neighbors, and voted unanimously to recommend approval to council with conditions in the packet.

Discussion highlights: Council members pressed the applicants and staff on sidewalks, road width and parking. Staff and the applicants said the developer has requested a variation to omit sidewalks; staff noted the city’s typical standard for newer developments is sidewalks on both sides but the small six-home design and internal parking strategy influenced the variance request. The proposed private road would be 28 feet wide — wider than some nearby streets — and the developer said each home will include a two- or three-car garage plus on-lot parking pads; the proposal also includes “no parking” signage in limited locations to discourage on-street parking.

Applicant statement: Greg M. Larson, co-applicant, said the project team prepared several layout concepts and coordinated with city staff and the DRC to arrive at the current plan. He described garages and off-street parking intended to reduce street parking demand and said the private road and homeowners association will maintain the road and snow removal. He said, in part, “we created several different concepts, and went in, met with Sydney. And, she had a lot of input as to what would be best.”

Formal action: The council voted to approve the conceptual site plan, contingent on conditions 1–5 in the staff report, and later voted to approve the zoning map amendment to apply the Plan Development Overlay with findings 1–9 (recorded as Ordinance 2025-13). Both votes were unanimous.

Next steps and conditions: The approvals are conditioned on the items listed in staff reports and final engineering compliance (including fire access and snow storage). The applicants said CC&Rs will include parking restrictions requiring oversized vehicles or trailers to be stored behind homes; the homeowners association will be responsible for maintenance of the private drive.

Background: Questions about sidewalks drew references to nearby Porta Walden development, where council members recalled past complaints and a later change in city standards to require sidewalks on both sides of new streets. The council considered those concerns while weighing the limited scale of the six-unit development and the proposed on-lot parking provisions.