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The Apostolic United Brethren has applied for a zoning change on land in Bluffdale where officials of the polygamous group are considering building up to eight homes for retirees in their community.
The Bluffdale Planning Commission will take public comment at a Tuesday hearing on the application, which requests amending the city zoning map from agricultural to single-family residential on about 26.4 acres owned by the AUB.
City planning staffers, noting that there is adequate infrastructure to accommodate future development, have recommended approval of the change. A commission recommendation would go to the Bluffdale City Council, which has the final say.
Brooks Baker, who filed the application on behalf of the Corporation of the Presiding Elder of the Apostolic United Brethren, said the AUB is tentatively planning for a handful of retirement homes. There would be a total of eight houses at most, he said, and one might be designated for a nurse.
The requested R-1-43 zoning calls for one single-family dwelling per acre, but the clustering of residential lots of at least 10,000 square feet is allowed at the discretion of the city council to accomplish specified objectives. Those objectives include leaving space for public recreational use, protecting valuable agricultural land and providing for more efficient operation and maintenance of public infrastructure.
Baker said the AUB might ask to cluster the homes so the retirees would all be together and could watch out for each other. If that request were granted, the group would have to leave an open acre on its property for each home in the cluster, he said.
The rezoning is just a first step and no detailed plans have been submitted, Baker said. The property is at approximately 1242 W. 16580 South, between Camp Williams Road and the Jordan River and accessed via the Jordan Narrows Road.
The AUB, also known as the Allred Group, adheres to a fundamentalist version of Mormonism that includes plural marriage — which the sect sanctions only between consenting adults. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has no connection to self-described fundamentalist Mormons, publicly abandoned polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates members who support or practice plural marriage.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC —
What's next
o The Bluffdale Planning Commission will hold a hearing on a request by the Corporation of the Presiding Elder of the Apostolic United Brethren to rezone 26 acres from agricultural to residential at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bluffdale Fire Station, 14350 S. 2200 West.