The Draper City Council will decide Tuesday, Aug. 4, whether to authorize an eminent domain action to seize private property for the Lone Peak Parkway widening, rezone 1.67 acres containing three homes dating to 1887 and 1941, and adopt the city's first short-term rental regulations.

The business session begins at 7 p.m. at Draper City Hall, 1020 E. Pioneer Rd.

Eminent domain for Lone Peak Parkway

Resolution #26-38 would give the city authority to file an eminent domain action to acquire private land for the Lone Peak Parkway widening project, which will widen and realign the corridor from 12300 South to 12650 South. City Attorney Traci Gundersen prepared the staff report.

The city has secured roughly $850,000 in corridor preservation funds and $3 million in federal funding for the project, with construction planned for 2027. The council packet does not name the affected property owner.

Historic-home rezone at 12430 S. 700 East

Ordinance #1735 would rezone approximately 1.67 acres on the west side of 700 East from agricultural (RA1 and RA2, with 40,000- and 20,000-square-foot minimum lots) to R4 single-family residential, which allows 10,000-square-foot lots. The change would clear the way for a future subdivision.

Three homes sit on the parcel now. According to the staff memo by planner Maryann D. Pickering, one was built in 1887 and two in 1941. The properties are part of the Draperville subdivision, originally recorded in 1873, tracing to the settlement William Draper founded in 1849.

The site sits along 700 East, one of the few streets the city identifies as holding its remaining historic resources. Draper's own historic preservation page acknowledges the city's historic resources are "few, dwindling, and found on only a few small streets in a very small area of our growing town." A documented historic home at 12464 S. 700 East, just south of the rezone parcel, dates to 1853–1863.

The Planning Commission forwarded a positive recommendation on a 5-0 vote at its Thursday, July 9, meeting. A public hearing is scheduled before the council vote. The developer is not named in the available council packet.

Short-term rental ordinance

Ordinance #1721, continued from the July 21 meeting for technical corrections, would create Draper's first licensing and safety framework for short-term rentals. Key provisions include a $1,000 fine for operating without a license, a requirement that renters be at least 21 and present during the stay, mandatory fire extinguishers and smoke alarms, and a rule that hosts post their name and phone number near the front entrance.

The push for regulation followed a March 24 fire at a Draper Airbnb near Hickenlooper Way, where guests allegedly set fire to a porch. The property had six prior complaints. Draper had no STR rules at the time.

"When an investor buys a home in a residential neighborhood and runs it as a full-time rental business with no on-site management, the neighbors become the unpaid complaint department," resident Nick Porter told ABC4 Utah on April 1, after the fire. "Our safety is now directly affected by someone else's business that they operate remotely with little accountability or oversight."

At the July 21 meeting, Councilmember Kathryn Dahlin said she appreciated the proposed occupancy and parking standards and wanted existing neighborhood parking rules enforced alongside the new STR requirements.

How to weigh in

Residents can submit written comments to City Recorder Nicole Smedley before noon Tuesday, Aug. 4, or attend the 7 p.m. business session in person. For ADA accommodations, call (801) 576-6502. A Truth in Taxation hearing on a proposed property tax increase is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m.