Lehi City News
Council denies rezoning on State Street
Nichole Coombs | Lehi Free Press
A rezoning request was denied after nearly an hour of community comment at the July 14 Lehi City Council meeting.
The Walker family asked the council to rezone their deceased parents’ property from residential to heavy commercial. The property, located at 915 West State Street, faces State Street and is surrounded by other commercial properties. A local developer is interested in building a mixed-use complex of offices and warehouses.
“We love Lehi, but we have to reconcile our parents’ estate, and that means selling the property,” said Debbie Walker. “The house is in disrepair. It needs new plumbing and electrical. It’s time.”
About 25 neighborhood residents spoke to the council about their concerns regarding the rezoning.
“I live right next to the property,” said Kyle Welch. “I mean, we love Debbie and her family, and they have every right to sell the property, but my concern is rezoning it to heavy commercial.”
Welch’s wife, Michelle, was very emotional when she told the council they bought their house just a year ago, and now she was worried about the safety of her children.
“This [rezoning] will hurt our family and our neighborhood,” said Welch.
The Walkers’ property backs up to Trinnaman Lane. This area has experienced significant congestion due to the addition of HADCO Construction and a UTA park-and-ride.
“We moved into the neighborhood about three years ago,” said Kristen Goodwin. “We’ve dealt with the noise from HADCO, increased noise off of I-15, and the 2100 park-and-ride, and now this. It feels like it’s just one more thing. I’m wondering why we should stay in the neighborhood.”
Speaking on behalf of her family, Debbie explained that they worked with several realtors in hopes of finding a good fit for the area.
“We had people come in who wanted to put in high-density housing, and that didn’t feel right. We didn’t want just another shopping center, so when this developer presented the warehouses and office mixed-use space, it felt right.”
The problem the city council has with the rezoning is that it’s permanent. Although the current developer only wants to build a mix of office and warehouse space, once the zoning is changed, the property can be resold, and the rezoning moves with the property, not the developer. Heavy commercial zoning doesn’t limit the size of buildings, as long as the developer adheres to the city’s buffering standards. Currently, in Lehi City, if any non-residential buildings are adjacent to residential areas, the developer must install an 8-foot masonry fence and create a reserved and landscaping area.
Another concern is access to the property. The Walker land faces State Street, but there could be access to Trinnaman Lane, which could put big trucks on neighborhood streets.
“I’m having a hard time seeing anything in heavy commercial so close to residents,” said council member Heather Newall. “Even with light industrial and the extra 75 feet of property [as buffer], it’s just not the same.”
Council member Emily Lockhart also expressed concern. “I’m not a fan of developer agreements, but would the applicant be open to one so we could put in some mitigations for the surrounding neighborhood?”
A developer agreement gives the city the ability to narrow the scope of what heavy commercial means on that plot of land. It creates boundaries for future businesses that may purchase the land.
“We are happy to come back to the table with an agreement,” said Walker. “No matter what happens, change is coming to Lehi. We can’t stop it, it’s happening.”
Both city officials and the developers will now work on an agreement, which will then be presented to the city council at a future meeting.
