Draper residents who own small properties near the Town Center TRAX station could soon be allowed to put a home on them.

The City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. at Draper City Hall, 1020 E. Pioneer Road, on a zoning text amendment that would permit at least one residential unit on smaller lots in the Town Center zone. The amendment is listed as a legislative item on the council agenda, meaning the council can take final action that night.

The change would fix what a summary of the July 30 Planning Commission meeting described as an accidental prohibition in Chapter 9-11 of the Draper City Municipal Code. Under the current code, smaller parcels in the Town Center zone cannot be used for housing, even though the area sits within walking distance of the TRAX station. The amendment would also let property owners convert historic buildings into residences.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposal July 30 and forwarded a positive recommendation to the council, as we reported July 30.

First code change from the Station Area Plan

This is the first code change to come out of the Draper Town Center Station Area Plan, which the council adopted March 4, 2025, and which the Wasatch Front Regional Council certified May 22, 2025. That plan was required under Utah House Bill 462 (2022), which mandates that cities with fixed-guideway transit stations adopt station area plans.

Community Development Director Jennifer Jastremsky told the Planning Commission in February 2025 that the plan's core purpose was straightforward. "The goal of the requirement is to have housing adjacent to transit," she said at the time, adding that code modifications would be needed to address the transition between the existing Town Center zone and the new plan area.

The adopted Station Area Plan envisions 30 to 40 multifamily units, 20 to 30 townhomes or duplexes and 30,000 square feet of commercial space on the city-owned site near the station, plus 450 to 500 multifamily units and 22,000 square feet of commercial space on the UTA-owned parking lot, according to Draper's 2025 Moderate Income Housing Report.

Those are long-range targets. Tuesday's vote addresses one narrow piece: letting existing small-lot owners use their land for housing.

How to weigh in

The Aug. 18 hearing is open to the public. Residents who cannot attend can contact planner Todd Taylor at (801) 576-6510 or [email protected] for a copy of the public notice or to submit comments. The amendment is filed as Application No. 2026-0175-TA.

Residents can also sign up for email or text alerts about future hearings at draperutah.gov.