Local News
Heavy commercial rezoning denied on State Street property
City staff and landowner to create limited use development agreement
Nichole Coombs | Lehi Free Press
Property at 915 West State Street, which has been the subject of controversy between landowners and residents, will not be rezoned, but change is coming to the Walker family-owned property. In a unanimous decision, in its Sept. 8 meeting, the Lehi City Council denied rezoning the property from residential to heavy commercial.
During the August council meeting, the council asked the property owners and the developer if they would be open to a development agreement in conjunction with the rezoning. Both parties agreed. The agreement would impose development restrictions, giving residents along Trinnaman Lane some protection against their neighborhood street becoming a heavy-equipment thoroughfare. City staff then worked on creating a development agreement that reflected the council’s wishes.
As part of this process, some residents asked the council to also consider making part of the Walker property residential. A petition asking for this additional consideration circulated on social media and collected about 100 signatures.
At the city council meeting on Sept. 8, several community members spoke out against the development agreement, saying it didn’t do enough to protect the neighborhood from the impacts of a zoning change.
Debbie Walker and her family spoke in favor of the agreement, saying it actually improves the neighborhood.
“This agreement would put sidewalks and curbing [along Trinnaman Lane],” said Walker. “It would add landscaping and make the area better than it is.”
Walker also pointed out that splitting the property and adding residential homes along Trinnaman Lane would add cars and driveways, the very thing the neighbors were worried about.
The city council agreed that splitting the property’s zoning didn’t make sense.
However, when it came time to vote on the development agreement, the council wasn’t satisfied with it and requested additional changes.
“I would like to see some language in there that in a commercial building, there will be no windows facing the residents,” said council member James Harrison. “Windows can face State Street, north, and other commercial properties.”
Other council members were concerned about the definition of which businesses would be allowed.
“I was concerned with construction services, but [researched and found out] that’s very different than a construction yard,” said council member Michelle Stallings. “[Construction services] is like where a plumber keeps his supplies, and he goes out and does his services, so it’s not as impactful. A crematorium is probably not a good idea. I went through the whole table of uses, and there were things I would take out and some things I’d put back in. Professional offices were taken out, and I would put that back in.”
Ultimately, the council decided to table the motion and asked city employees to work on a new development agreement.
After the motion was tabled, a second motion to rezone the property was denied, which caused some confusion among residents in attendance at the council meeting.
The rezoning motion, from residential to heavy commercial, was denied and will not come up for a vote again. The property will remain zoned residential, R-1-8, but a development agreement is being prepared by city staff and the landowners that would allow the land to be used for some commercial purposes, such as office warehouses.
This has happened before in Lehi. The Utah Valley Tennis Club, located at 2065 West 900 South, is on land zoned for agricultural use, but through a development agreement, the city and landowner created an opportunity for the property to be developed under strict guidelines. For example, the tennis club doesn’t have any large signage, and the building was designed to look more like a barn and blend into the community.
A new development agreement will be presented and voted on at the Lehi City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026.
