Farmington homeowners and developers building on foothill land could face a new limit on how much of their lots can be covered by driveways, rooftops and other hard surfaces.

The Farmington Planning Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 160 S. Main St., on a proposed amendment to the city's Foothill Development Standards. The change would cap impervious surface coverage at 35% of an individual lot, according to a public notice posted Sept. 29 by Planning Secretary Carly Rowe.

Right now, there is no per-lot cap. Farmington's current Section 11-30-060 limits impervious surface for streets and roadways within a foothill development to 20% of the gross site. The proposed amendment would add the lot-level restriction for the first time.

Flooding concerns in the foothills

The proposal comes after residents raised stormwater concerns at a Feb. 17 City Council meeting, where multiple people described flooding in Farmington's hillside neighborhoods. Resident Paul Bredthauer told officials his property west of 200 East floods every year and has for 15 years, according to meeting minutes. He said the area's drainage cannot handle existing development.

Community Development Director Lyle Gibson acknowledged at that meeting that development north of a proposed foothill project had affected drainage in the area. The council voted 4-1 that night to deny a rezone of roughly 40 acres from Agriculture-Foothill to Large Residential-Foothill for the Farmington Reserve/The Garden project, citing safety concerns including flooding, fault lines and steep slopes.

The foothill standards already require extensive review for hillside projects, including slope maps, soil reports and grading and erosion control plans. Erosion control facilities must handle a 100-year storm, and no dwelling is allowed within the 100-year floodplain.

The Planning Commission last updated the foothill ordinance in September 2023, adding architectural design standards and tightening no-build rules on steep slopes, according to commission records.

How to weigh in

No staff report or draft ordinance text for the Oct. 8 hearing was publicly available as of Sept. 29. Residents with questions can contact Gibson at [email protected] or 801-451-2383. The notice is also posted on the Utah Public Notice Website and the Farmington City website.

If the commission recommends the amendment, it would go to the Farmington City Council for final action.