OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Lehi City Council Meeting - March 18, 2025

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, March 18, 2025
BodyLehi, Utah
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, March 18, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:00

Yeah, maybe I just needed to warm up or something.

0:05

That hasn't doing.

0:17

I think we're doing here.

0:18

We're already late for a meeting.

0:20

Waiting for you.

0:23

All right.

0:24

I'd like to welcome everybody to the March 18th, 2025 Lehigh City Council meeting.

0:30

This is the pre-council version.

0:33

We will start the regular session at 7 p.m.

0:36

or thereabouts.

0:38

But we'll try to hit that mark.

0:40

As a matter of roll call, we do have all our council members here tonight with the exception of Paul Hancock, and he had asked to be excused earlier, and so he is excused from this meeting tonight.

0:57

And I ask Paige if she would give that to us today.

1:04

Hi, Father and Heaven.

1:05

We're grateful that we together here this evening to oversee the business of the city.

1:09

And we're thankful for the moisture that we're currently receiving.

1:13

We ask for a blessing of safety upon all those who are currently on the roads that they might be watched over and protected, particularly our first responders and those who are helping the drivers that are out there.

1:22

We're thankful for the opportunity to live in this great city, Heavenly Father, and we are hopeful for the guidance of thy spirit as we make decisions that pertain to the citizens here.

1:32

Please help us be mindful of the needs of others, and we might do things that are to the benefit of everyone.

1:41

And again, Father, we're thankful for the opportunity to live here, and we ask for thy spirit to be with us, and we say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

1:50

Thank you, Paige.

1:51

All right.

1:52

We have uh five presentations today, so uh hope we can get through everything in this meeting because we have a very long agenda today.

2:01

It's probably making up for our shortest agenda in the last meeting.

2:05

So somebody I guess it's gonna throw the world back into balance for us somehow.

2:10

So first presentation is item 2.1.

2:14

That this is the North Station Area Plan presentation.

2:21

Okay, maybe while Christine is plugging in her computer to get that she's got a presentation.

2:28

I'll just and by the way, Christine Richman with GSBS architects has been our consultant that's done a lot on this plan.

2:38

And we've been so over a year.

2:41

It's almost um about a year and a half, actually, yeah.

2:45

Yeah.

2:45

So one thing I just wanted to mention up front, this has gone to planning commission.

2:51

In fact, it was just the last regular meeting, I think last week.

2:55

And we did a similar thing.

2:57

We had the presentation kind of more in just an informal setting, and then we took it to a public hearing during the public hearing.

3:05

Then they did recommend approval, but there was some uh I guess concern from one of the landowners, the pr one of the largest landowners in the station area.

3:17

Uh there was some confusion about whether this was an area plan under Lehigh Cities Code or and we had to we tried to explain that this is a stationary plan that the state has mandated, which is a much different document, a whole different purpose, uh more of a high-level plan.

3:35

So I think we've resolved that, but when the planning commission made the recommendation, they they actually added to their motion some language that they wanted to make it explicitly clear that this was not a Lehigh City area plan like Travers Mountain or Holbert Farms type area plan that is very regulatory and uh it entitles the property, all that kind of stuff.

3:56

That that was their concern.

3:57

So, anyways, just wanted to air that out first, and I'll let Christine present.

4:03

Right.

4:04

Well, thank you for um the time today.

4:07

Um I plan to just uh give you a high-level review of the process we went through and what the purpose and the uh preferred option that is embodied in the plan, and then what the next steps are and then leave plenty of time for questions for you.

4:27

So um tonight's discussion is going to focus on kind of where we ended up, but the but the overall document has a lot of detail about how we got there.

4:38

So, first of all, um as Kim mentioned, this is a stationary plan completed under the requirements of the state code.

5:00

And for all jurisdiction and jurisdictions that have either an existing or a planned station, you're required to have a stationary plan that identifies a shared vision for the future of that area, identifies opportunities and constraints within the station area, whether those are physical, environmental, or social constraints, identifies opportunities for affordable housing, identifies and describes the preferred vision and how to get there.

5:16

So it will include the plan itself includes strategic recommendations that address both actions by Lehigh City, but also by UTA and UDOT because they're partners in implementing a lot of these station area plans.

5:32

As Kim mentioned, this is a plan that focuses on the vision and the goals for this particular area.

5:42

It is not a regulatory plan.

5:44

So just so the station area that we're talking about tonight is the north station area.

5:54

Sorry, I have to get my little laser pointer going.

5:57

And it is here, it's this area right here on the future point of the mountain transit line, which will connect, is proposed to connect the front runner draper station here to this station at uh South Triumph.

6:15

I don't know if it's still called that, and be connected to the Lehigh frontrunner station by a bus connection.

6:23

So the main line itself is proposed to be uh light rail track station, uh tracks line.

6:30

So the North Lehigh station is a future station on a future line.

6:36

Uh the reason that uh it was identified as a future station was to support economic development, improve access and mobility in that particular area, connect to the regional transit system, and support perceived growth in demand in the area.

6:54

So this is a map of the radius, the half mile radius around the proposed station.

7:01

And as you can see, this particular planning area has a number of existing conditions that mean that we're not the plan itself doesn't address all of that, the area in the radius.

7:16

We've identified that this residential zone, this is the existing uh single family residential development, this area that is under construction as a transit-oriented development, the flight park, the city's new park at Shadow Ridge, and some other uh entitled areas are what we are referring to as exclusion areas because those are areas that are already either developed, won't be developed like in the flight park, or um are under development now.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Planning and Zoning███████████████████████23%
Zoning Regulations█████████████13%
Affordable Housing██████████10%
Transportation Safety█████████9%
Procedural███████7%
Economic Development██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Community Development████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Lehi City Council Meeting - March 18, 2025

The Lehi City Council held a regular meeting on March 18, 2025, starting with a pre-council session at 5:30 PM and the regular session at 7:00 PM. The meeting covered a wide range of topics including a station area plan, business license revisions, a road closure and traffic signal project, grant updates, park staffing, multiple zone changes, development code amendments, and a community reinvestment area for the Morning Vista project. The council took numerous votes, with several items passing, some tabled for further work, and one denied.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Meeting Minutes (January 28, 2025; February 4, 2025 budget retreat; February 11, 2025; March 4, 2025 work session): Approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Whitney Castillo (Health Center Theater community advocacy team) invited council members and city employees to attend shows and offered free vouchers for "Jersey Boys."
  • Eileen Augustine (resident) commented on the business license renewal process, suggesting exemptions for small home-based businesses, and on Family Park, recommending it be kept open without staffing.
  • Kenneth Glade (resident) argued against the Starter Home Attainability Residential (SHAR) overlay, stating that designating specific areas would increase land prices and that price controls are ineffective, ultimately recommending the project be abandoned.
  • Mark Skowsen (representing Hadco Construction) expressed concerns about proposed 30-foot buffer and 8-foot concrete fence requirements for non-residential zones, citing land taking and unclear sound benefits.
  • Teresa Gonzalez (resident adjacent to State Street commercial zone) advocated for 8-foot fences (not 6-foot) and better addressing of grade differences for sound and visibility screening.
  • Rob Ludlow (Traverse Mountain resident) raised several concerns about the Morning Vista Community Reinvestment Project Area, including traffic impacts, grading timelines, density transfers, affordable housing calculations, and incomplete infrastructure maintenance responsibilities. He urged the council to hold the developer accountable.

Discussion Items

  • North Station Area Plan Presentation: Consultant Christine Richman (GSBS Architects) presented the state-mandated station area plan for the future North Lehi light rail station. The plan covers a half-mile radius, focuses on connectivity, pedestrian-friendly design, and includes a village green, active transportation spine, and approximately 1,060 residential units. Mayor Johnson expressed frustration about the 20-year timeline for light rail and questioned how to proceed without transit commitment. Council discussed the plan's flexibility and next steps for certification.
  • Business License Ordinance Discussion: Craig presented revisions to the business license ordinance including: establishing a business license official with authority to immediately suspend licenses for violations (e.g., selling tobacco/THC to minors), increasing late fee penalty from 25% to 35%, and changing violations from Class C to Class B misdemeanor. Council members raised concerns about fee increases possibly causing non-renewal, audit procedures, and e-commerce regulations. The item is expected to come back for a vote.
  • Closure of 1870 N Connection to State Street and Traffic Signal at 1800 N: Luke Segmiller presented crash data showing a dramatic increase in left-turn crashes (three in 2024) and proposed closing the intersection of 1870 N at State Street and adding a traffic signal at 1800 N. UDOT project engineer Tyler Fattis presented a concept with an estimated cost of $1.455 million (signal and restriping by UDOT; widening of 1800 N by Lehi City). Council supported the closure and signal, and asked staff to bring a closure approval to the next meeting for a trial run.
  • Lehi City Grant Program Update: Matt Lee reported 20 active grants totaling $25.5 million (including $23.5 million for secondary water meters), 5 pending applications, and 4 in process. Highlights include public safety grants (COPS hiring, body armor) and non-public safety grants (senior center, EV charging, trail construction).
  • Staffing Plans for Family Park: Mayor Johnson and Steve Marchbanks requested direction on staffing Family Park for Sundays. Staff recommended hiring a full-time employee (cheaper than overtime) to keep the park open on Sundays. Council agreed (3-1 with Michelle dissenting) to use reserves for the rest of the fiscal year and incorporate ongoing costs into the upcoming budget.
  • Resolution 2025-14 – Issuance of Bonds for Broadband Project: Resolution authorizing up to $20 million in franchise and sales tax revenue bonds for the fiber broadband project. Council approved (4-0) with a public hearing set for April 8.
  • Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Allocations: Presentations from Family Haven, Friends of Utah County Children's Justice Center, Lehi Engineering (sidewalk project), Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry, Holbrook Center (Curtis Center for Arts and Education), and United Way of Utah County (VITA program). Staff recommended $290,000 for the sidewalk project and $13,800 for the Curtis Center security upgrades, but council debated distributing funds to other applicants. After discussion, council approved the staff recommendation with a provision to reconsider allocations if federal funding changes, and to bring back updated allocation proposals on April 22.
  • Ordinance 07-2025 – Cardenas Zone Change: Zone change from R-2 to Commercial on 0.16 acres at 610 East State Street for a small accounting office. Approved (4-0).
  • Resolution 2025-12 – Intent to Annex Bart Christofferson Annexation #2: Approved (4-0) despite applicant not being present.
  • Ordinance 08-2025 – Heaton Zone Change: Zone change from RA-1 to R-1-Flex on 0.73 acres at 285 South 500 West for a new home. Approved (4-0).
  • Ordinance 13-2025 – KAZ Design Build Zone Change: Zone change from RA-1 to R-1-Flex on 0.99 acres at 850 North 1200 East for a flag lot single-family home. Approved (4-0).
  • Ordinance 09-2025 – Holbrook Farms Area Plan Amendment: Application to add 7.15 acres and approve a concept plan for residential townhomes at approximately 2100 North Miller Campus Drive. Council denied the request after discussion about losing commercial land and unresolved density/ERU transfer issues. (3-1, Chris dissenting).
  • Ordinance 10-2025 – Development Code Amendment for Auto Sales: ProSteel Customs requested a citywide code amendment to allow auto sales/rental on parcels over 1 acre in Commercial zones. Council tabled the item and directed staff to work on a development agreement specific to the applicant's property for U-Haul rentals. (4-0).
  • Ordinance 11-2025 – Development Code Amendment to Chapter 12-B: Removed requirement that property owners who encroach cannot purchase the encroached property from the city. Approved (4-0) with a minor amendment to remove an apostrophe.
  • Ordinance 14-2025 – Buffer and Screening Requirements Update: Proposed update to buffer and screening standards for non-residential zones adjacent to residential zones. After extensive public comment and council discussion about fence materials, heights, and buffer widths, council tabled the ordinance to allow staff to refine it based on feedback. (4-0).
  • Ordinance 15-2025 – Starter Home Attainability Residential (SHAR) Overlay: Development code amendment to create a new overlay zone for smaller, more affordable homes. Council tabled the item to the May work session to allow more analysis, including case studies and infrastructure considerations. (4-0).
  • RDA Meeting – Morning Vista Community Reinvestment Project Area: The Redevelopment Agency approved the project area plan, budget, interlocal agreement, and development agreement (3-1, Michelle dissenting). The developer (Perry Commercial and CenterCal) will build a high-end grocery-anchored retail center with a central plaza, fine dining, and 285 multifamily units. The incentive is up to $8 million in sales tax rebates over 15 years. The council also approved the corresponding city ordinances (12-2025 and Resolution 2025-15) on a 3-1 vote.
  • Resolution 2025-13 – Privacy Space Compliance Plan: Adopted a policy to address state law requirements for sex-designated privacy spaces in city facilities. Approved (4-0).
  • Resolution 2025-16 – PARC Advisory Committee Appointments: Tabled until next meeting to review applicant.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved (4-0).
  • Resolution 2025-14 (Bonds): Approved (4-0).
  • CDBG Allocation: Approved staff recommendation ($290k for sidewalk, $13,800 for Curtis Center) with direction to reconsider on April 22 if funding changes or if project costs come in under budget. (4-0).
  • Ordinance 07-2025 (Cardenas Zone Change): Approved (4-0).
  • Resolution 2025-12 (Intent to Annex): Approved (4-0).
  • Ordinance 08-2025 (Heaton Zone Change): Approved (4-0).
  • Ordinance 13-2025 (KAZ Zone Change): Approved (4-0).
  • Ordinance 09-2025 (Holbrook Farms Amendment): Denied (3-1).
  • Ordinance 10-2025 (Auto Sales Code Amendment): Tabled to allow development agreement (4-0).
  • Ordinance 11-2025 (Chapter 12-B Amendment): Approved (4-0).
  • Ordinance 14-2025 (Buffer and Screening): Tabled for revision (4-0).
  • Ordinance 15-2025 (SHAR Overlay): Tabled to May work session (4-0).
  • RDA Resolutions and Ordinances (Morning Vista): Approved (3-1), with direction to confirm affordable housing unit count per state code.
  • Resolution 2025-13 (Privacy Spaces): Approved (4-0).
  • Resolution 2025-16 (PARC Committee): Tabled.
  • Family Park Staffing: Consensus to use reserves for a full-time employee to keep park open on Sundays, to be included in upcoming budget.
  • 1870 N Closure: Direction to staff to prepare a resolution for the next meeting to close the road temporarily with a trial period.

Meeting Transcript

Yeah, maybe I just needed to warm up or something. That hasn't doing. I think we're doing here. We're already late for a meeting. Waiting for you. All right. I'd like to welcome everybody to the March 18th, 2025 Lehigh City Council meeting. This is the pre-council version. We will start the regular session at 7 p.m. or thereabouts. But we'll try to hit that mark. As a matter of roll call, we do have all our council members here tonight with the exception of Paul Hancock, and he had asked to be excused earlier, and so he is excused from this meeting tonight. And I ask Paige if she would give that to us today. Hi, Father and Heaven. We're grateful that we together here this evening to oversee the business of the city. And we're thankful for the moisture that we're currently receiving. We ask for a blessing of safety upon all those who are currently on the roads that they might be watched over and protected, particularly our first responders and those who are helping the drivers that are out there. We're thankful for the opportunity to live in this great city, Heavenly Father, and we are hopeful for the guidance of thy spirit as we make decisions that pertain to the citizens here. Please help us be mindful of the needs of others, and we might do things that are to the benefit of everyone. And again, Father, we're thankful for the opportunity to live here, and we ask for thy spirit to be with us, and we say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen. Thank you, Paige. All right. We have uh five presentations today, so uh hope we can get through everything in this meeting because we have a very long agenda today. It's probably making up for our shortest agenda in the last meeting. So somebody I guess it's gonna throw the world back into balance for us somehow. So first presentation is item 2.1. That this is the North Station Area Plan presentation. Okay, maybe while Christine is plugging in her computer to get that she's got a presentation. I'll just and by the way, Christine Richman with GSBS architects has been our consultant that's done a lot on this plan. And we've been so over a year. It's almost um about a year and a half, actually, yeah. Yeah. So one thing I just wanted to mention up front, this has gone to planning commission. In fact, it was just the last regular meeting, I think last week. And we did a similar thing. We had the presentation kind of more in just an informal setting, and then we took it to a public hearing during the public hearing. Then they did recommend approval, but there was some uh I guess concern from one of the landowners, the pr one of the largest landowners in the station area. Uh there was some confusion about whether this was an area plan under Lehigh Cities Code or and we had to we tried to explain that this is a stationary plan that the state has mandated, which is a much different document, a whole different purpose, uh more of a high-level plan. So I think we've resolved that, but when the planning commission made the recommendation, they they actually added to their motion some language that they wanted to make it explicitly clear that this was not a Lehigh City area plan like Travers Mountain or Holbert Farms type area plan that is very regulatory and uh it entitles the property, all that kind of stuff. That that was their concern. So, anyways, just wanted to air that out first, and I'll let Christine present. Right. Well, thank you for um the time today. Um I plan to just uh give you a high-level review of the process we went through and what the purpose and the uh preferred option that is embodied in the plan, and then what the next steps are and then leave plenty of time for questions for you. So um tonight's discussion is going to focus on kind of where we ended up, but the but the overall document has a lot of detail about how we got there. So, first of all, um as Kim mentioned, this is a stationary plan completed under the requirements of the state code. And for all jurisdiction and jurisdictions that have either an existing or a planned station, you're required to have a stationary plan that identifies a shared vision for the future of that area, identifies opportunities and constraints within the station area, whether those are physical, environmental, or social constraints, identifies opportunities for affordable housing, identifies and describes the preferred vision and how to get there. So it will include the plan itself includes strategic recommendations that address both actions by Lehigh City, but also by UTA and UDOT because they're partners in implementing a lot of these station area plans. As Kim mentioned, this is a plan that focuses on the vision and the goals for this particular area. It is not a regulatory plan.

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