Lehi City News
City Council and Planning Commission hold joint work session for citywide infrastructure improvements and mixed-use development.
Areas of change include I-15 Corridor, Thanksgiving Point, west of the Jordan River, Pioneer Crossing and the Micron area.
On Tuesday January 14 in the City Hall Chambers, both the City Council and Planning Commission met with City staff for a joint work session. The two governing bodies were split into four work groups. Each group received a large Lehi City map displaying a rough draft of Lehi’s new 2020 General Plan. The map highlighted the City’s areas of change encompassing the I15 Corridor, Thanksgiving Point, west of the Jordan River, Pioneer Crossing and the Micron areas.
“This is really the input time” said Kim Struthers, Community Development Director as he prepared the group for the evening’s task. Struthers welcomed the group to offer both negative and positive feedback to enhance the General Plan, as this is one of the last steps before presenting to the public. Struthers then introduced Mike West, Lehi City Long Range Planner, to present various vision plans. West had solicited vision examples from the Council and Commission members previously, to present the results at Tuesday’s work session. The presented visions included shopping districts, public plazas, and downtown areas from cities like Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Savannah, Georgia. “One of the things I like about all of these examples is they are all different and have character. I also like the ability to just gather, not just with your own family but other members of the community.” Said Councilman Chris Condie.
The groups then separated into a workshop to discuss the following questions:
- Where would you like to see mixed-use development and at what scale?
- Where would you like to see transportation improvements like roads, rail and bikes?
- What areas do you see opportunities for “Gathering” places and features?
One of the group’s discussion revolved around transportation improvements including the opportunity to add an additional freeway ramp north of Thanksgiving Point, an east-west thoroughfare on the edge of Utah Lake, and the controversial extension of Clubhouse Drive. The group also had a conversation around mixed-use projects and where they could be located, in areas like Thanksgiving Point and around Pioneer Crossing.
The overall consensus of the joint session included desires to preserve Lehi’s natural assets like the Jordan River and Traverse Mountain, while building more of a mixed-use and community gathering space in areas like Thanksgiving Point and the Downtown Main Street area.
“It’s exciting to see this update start to come together, and I think it’s great that we’re having so many opportunities for everyone to give input,” said Councilwoman Paige Albrecht. Planning Commission Chair Matt Hemmert expressed similar sentiments, “Breaking into different working groups to discuss the same issues and come to some sort of “group” consensus was a really great exercise. The opportunity for elected officials, appointees, and city staff to sit together and brainstorm a future state of the city was refreshing,” said Hemmert.
