Council approves Dixie Downs PDR with conditions, removes mandatory trash-screening requirement

Council reviewed a PDR rezone to allow three townhome buildings on roughly one acre. Staff described unit footprints (about 1,150 square feet) and parking that meets code; staff and planning commission recommended conditions including screening for trash cans, additional façade/color variations, and meeting PDR front-landscape requirements.

Council debated whether to mandate screened trash-can locations. Developer representative Rick Meyer said the plan was to "pull that north fence down about 12 feet from the back property line" and have gated backyards so "they can just put... the trash cans in the backyard." Some councilmembers argued screening is good planning; others said the city does not require screening for single-family homes and worried about singling out townhomes. Council amended the motion to drop a mandatory screening requirement and instead require a plan for trash-can location, and adopted the ordinance with the planning-commission recommendations on colors and landscaping. The motion carried unanimously.