The Lehi City Council voted unanimously during its Sept. 8 meeting to establish a new parking code specifically for preschools that provide integrated therapeutic services. According to a Sept. 25 report by the Lehi Free Press, the measure addresses concerns regarding neighborhood street congestion caused by employee parking.
The legislative change follows complaints from residents in the Foxhunt neighborhood, located at the southeast corner of 3200 North and 1200 West in Lehi. Resident Kyrk Wright told the city council in June that while he welcomes new businesses, bumper-to-bumper parking on his street poses a hazard. Wright stated that because the local special-needs preschool has a large number of employees without sufficient parking, they fill neighborhood streets with between 30 and 40 cars per day.
The new code requires preschools with integrated therapeutic services to provide one parking stall per employee on the largest shift of the day, plus five visitor spaces. Alternatively, the planning commission may approve different requirements based on a parking demand study. This new regulation impacts new businesses in Lehi but does not affect those already established in the city.
Current city code requires preschools to have one parking stall per 300 feet of gross floor area. While Fabian House, a preschool near the Foxhunt neighborhood, meets the existing requirement, its staffing model has contributed to local parking issues. The facility offers programs for neurotypical children and children on the spectrum from kindergarten through 5th grade, including applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism. Because Fabian House employs one caregiver for every three to four children, the influx of staff has increased parking demand.
