Someone planning an addition in Midway pulls up the city's design language, reads about carved beams, curved Riegelhaus rooflines, and stucco-and-timber walls, and assumes every lot in town answers to the same design authority. Then the plans come back from the wrong committee, or there was never a committee to submit to at all. The confusion makes sense. Midway does have a Swiss-European architectural code on the books. It just governs a smaller slice of the town than the postcards suggest.
The ordinance covers less ground than people assume
Midway City Code Section 16.13.370 requires new construction and substantial remodels to conform to a Swiss-European architectural theme, but the section is specific about where. The requirement applies to the C-2 and C-3 commercial zones, the Resort Zones, and, as of a City Council vote on April 7, 2026, places of worship in any zone. Structures on the national or local historic register are exempt regardless of zone. That's the entire list. Standard residential zones such as R-1-9, R-1-15, R-1-22, and RA-1-43 are not named in the ordinance at all.
The April amendment is worth pausing on, because it shows the code is still moving. Before Ordinance 2026-09, a church built in a residential zone had no obligation to match the Swiss-European theme the way a new restaurant on Main Street would. The council closed that gap by extending the requirement to places of worship in any zone, a change the Planning Commission recommended specifically so future religious buildings would "better match the Midway theme and vision" described in the General Plan. If the council has amended the scope once this year, a homeowner shouldn't assume the current boundaries are permanent. The zoning code is worth checking fresh before drawings get commissioned, not pulled from an old printout.
So why do whole neighborhoods still look the same?
Because a handful of residential subdivisions adopted the aesthetic voluntarily, through private covenants rather than city law. According to Lewis Contracting, communities like Dutch Fields, The Hamlet, Valais, Zermatt Village, and Interlaken each run their own architectural review committee. That committee can require Swiss-inspired rooflines, timber detailing, and stone-and-stucco walls on a residential lot the city ordinance never touches
That distinction matters more than it sounds. A city ordinance and a homeowner association covenant look similar on a builder's checklist, but they are enforced through completely different systems.
| Midway City Ordinance (16.13.370) | HOA Architectural Review (CC&Rs) | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | C-2, C-3, Resort Zones, and places of worship, except structures on national or local historic registers | Only lots inside a covenant community |
| Reviewing body | Midway Visual Architecture Committee | Private ARC named in the CC&Rs |
| Legal basis | Municipal code, under state land use authority | Private HOA review |
| Consequence of skipping it | City can withhold the building permit | The HOA can enforce its requirements |
| Can the requirement change | Yes, by City Council ordinance vote | Yes, the requirements can change |
Outside those named communities and outside the commercial, resort, and worship zones, a Midway property may have no design-theme review at all. Just the ordinary zoning dimensional standards, height limits, and building permit process that apply everywhere in the state.
Scotch Fields and HOA review
If a buyer picks a subdivision partly because its covenants promise architectural cohesion, it's worth looking past the CC&R language and into how the HOA actually functions. Scotch Fields provides an example of how HOA governance and written design rules are separate considerations. City Council minutes record homeowners' reports that the developer had promised amenities, including a sports court, tennis court, and pavilion, and that only some were delivered. The HOA later transitioned from developer control to homeowner control, and residents raised concerns at a public meeting about landscaping they said remained unfinished relative to the standard described to them.
Buyers weighing a covenant community for its design consistency may also wish to understand how the HOA operates, alongside the written rules.
What actually gates your renovation
Before hiring a designer, the practical sequence looks like this:
- Pull the current zoning designation for the parcel. Commercial (C-2, C-3), Resort Zone, and any place of worship trigger the city ordinance, except for structures on the national or local historic register. Residential zones (R-1-9, R-1-15, R-1-22, RA-1-43) do not, on their own.
- If the parcel falls under 16.13.370, plans for a substantial remodel or new construction go to the Visual Architecture Committee for a compliance recommendation, not just brand-new builds.
- If the parcel is residential, check whether it sits inside a covenant community. Dutch Fields, The Hamlet, Valais, Zermatt Village, Interlaken, and Scotch Fields all carry their own ARC review through CC&Rs that the city ordinance never mentions.
- If the lot is residential and outside any HOA, confirm there's no design-theme requirement in play at all, only standard zoning and building code.
- Confirm historic register status either way. It exempts a structure from the city ordinance regardless of what zone it sits in.
Skipping this sequence is how a homeowner ends up with a full set of drawings rejected by a committee that was never the one with jurisdiction, or approved by a body that had no authority to bless the project in the first place. Both boards judge similar things, including exposed beams, arched doorways, and acceptable roof and shingle styles, but they answer to different rules, set out in the city ordinance and the recorded CC&Rs.
FAQ
Does buying outside these named HOAs mean there's no design review at all? If the parcel is zoned residential, sits outside a covenant community, and either isn't a place of worship or is a structure on a national or local historic register, the city's Swiss-European ordinance doesn't reach it. Standard zoning and building code still apply, just without the architectural theme layer.
Could the city extend the ordinance into residential zones later? The council has amended the ordinance's scope within the past few months, adding places of worship in April 2026. That history suggests the boundaries aren't fixed, and it's worth checking the current code text rather than an older summary before finalizing a design.
Figuring out which review body actually has jurisdiction over a specific Midway parcel, and how well that HOA's board has historically functioned, is exactly the kind of groundwork that belongs in the due diligence phase, not discovered after a design has already been drawn. Jenica Lynne Parker and the Parker Properties team pull the zoning file and the relevant CC&Rs before a client commissions a single drawing, so the right committee sees the right plans the first time. Start Effortless Ownership. Schedule a consultation before you break ground.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
