Lehi City Council Meeting - August 11, 2026: Transportation, Sign Code, Fox Trail, Gardner Plumb, Justice Court
Lehi City Council Meeting Summary - August 11, 2026
The Lehi City Council met on August 11, 2026, at 6:00 PM (pre-council) and 7:00 PM (regular session) in the City Council Chambers. The meeting addressed a transportation funding resolution, amendments to the sign code, an annexation, a subdivision concept plan, a development agreement amendment, and appointments to a justice court nominating commission. Several items involved extensive public testimony and council debate.
Consent Calendar
- Approved City Council meeting minutes, purchase orders, Resolution #2026-48 (Hughes General Contractors dirt work for Public Works storage building), and reapproval of Ordinance #26-2025 (Bart Christofferson #2 Annexation). (Unanimous vote)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Fox Trail Subdivision (5.3): Multiple residents from the College Farms HOA voiced support for the 9-lot concept plan. Neil Farrell (HOA board president) emphasized safety benefits of a sidewalk connection along 1500 North, noting a recent rollover accident. Candace Jones supported the plan, citing public benefits like HOA maintenance of park strips and pedestrian connectivity. Cassie Miners and Carly Johnson also spoke in favor, highlighting safety for children walking to school. No speakers opposed the plan.
- Gardner Plumb Development Agreement Amendment (5.4): Dennis Beatty (Willow Point HOA president) shifted from initial opposition to conditional support, citing potential parking improvements through collaboration. Lisa Hardman and Kylie Pace (landowners) supported the transfer to preserve historic farmland in the north and enable commercial development in the south. Walt Plumb (applicant) provided background on the 12-year project history and the unit transfer request.
Discussion Items
Transportation Funding Resolution (Pre-Council)
The council revisited a multi-city resolution on transportation funding, tabled since January 27, 2026. Members expressed support for the existing language but agreed to update it to reflect recent progress (e.g., MAG funding for Pony Express extension, UTA on-demand service, and water concerns). Councilmember Harrison suggested including water considerations in the housing resolution as well. The mayor will initiate outreach to neighboring cities, with drafts expected by September and final resolutions aimed for October.
Ordinance #35-2026: Sign Code Amendment (5.1)
The council untabled and considered a comprehensive amendment to Chapter 23 (Signs). Discussion centered on who should approve exceptions for large signs over 50 sq ft (pylon, electronic message) – planning commission vs. city council. Councilmembers debated centralization of power and resident input. Consensus emerged to keep the public hearing at the planning commission level, with the planning commission providing a recommendation to the city council for final decision. The ordinance passed unanimously (5-0).
Fox Trail Subdivision Concept Plan (5.3)
Symphony Homes requested a concept plan for 9 lots (from previously approved 8) with a development agreement. Staff said the monetary public benefit of the sidewalk and park strip maintenance was low (approx. $5,000-$6,000). Council debated the precedent of granting density for private benefits. Motion to deny carried 3-2 (Councilmembers Harrison, Stallings, Freeman in favor; Lockhart, Newell against). The council encouraged the HOA and developer to negotiate privately and suggested the city consider finishing the sidewalk separately.
Gardner Plumb Development Agreement Amendment (5.4)
The applicant requested transfer of 124 equivalent residential units (ERUs) from the northern parcel to the southern parcel, to develop a mix of residential, hotel, and retail. The Hardman family wished to preserve the northern area for lower-density, equestrian-style development. Council expressed interest in ensuring commercial benefits (hotel, retail) and parking solutions for the neighboring Willow Point community. Several councilmembers wanted more specifics in writing. The council unanimously voted to table the item for further discussion at a work session planned for September 8, 2026, with the applicant to provide detailed proposals through staff.
Justice Court Nominating Commission (5.5)
Resolution #2026-45 appointed Ryan Wood and Jody Near to the Utah County Justice Court Nominating Commission to vet candidates for the vacancy created by Judge Cummings' resignation effective October 8, 2026. Some discussion about the future of the court, but the resolution was approved unanimously (5-0). The city attorney noted the posting will not proceed until the council decides on the court's future, with a discussion scheduled for September 8.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Consent items (unanimous), Sign Code Ordinance #35-2026 with amendments (5-0), Pasture Walk Annexation Resolution #2026-47 (5-0), Justice Court Nominating Commission Resolution #2026-45 (5-0).
- Denied: Fox Trail Subdivision concept plan for 9 lots (3-2 vote in favor of denial).
- Tabled: Gardner Plumb Development Agreement amendment (unanimous, to be revisited September 8).
- Direction: Transportation funding resolution language to be updated and multi-city outreach to begin; housing resolution to include water considerations.
Meeting Transcript
Lockhart. We welcome you here. We welcome those who have joined us in the council chambers. Councilmember Freeman, can I call on you for some opening comments? Our dear Father in Heaven, we're thankful for the opportunity we have to meet tonight and for the positions that we hold in the responsibilities that we have to take care of the city and the residents represent them and the different decisions that we have to make. We're thankful for all the workers, yeah, the city and for their for their efforts as well to help us and and the residents. We ask you, please, for guidance and direction and discernment and all that we do. And we say seeing the name of Jesus Christ Human. Thank you. Okay. That's item one. Item two working discussion items. We don't have a lot of items tonight, so we'll work through this one. Item 2.1 transportation funding resolution discussion. This was tabled in January January 27th of 26. Along with this item, I know it was transportation and housing if I remember correctly. So with that, Councilmember Harrison, I'm gonna turn some time over to you on this. If you want to lead on that, that would be great. Sure. Um I think so back in January we passed two resolutions, one on transportation and one on housing, and then we tabled uh a copy of that, but built for a multi-city resolution for each topic. So and correct me if I'm wrong, Tisha, uh, but we we tabled those multi-city ones just because we had just come into office, we didn't have really enough time to coordinate with our cities uh surrounding cities to get their buy-in. So I think now we're just discussing the multi-city resolutions for housing and transportation. Um and if we're good with the current language, then I think the plan was uh for the mayor to kind of coordinate that with the surrounding mayors. Um so I guess the main question is are we are we good with the language in both uh of the resolutions that we passed? And if we are um we're still good to move forward with the multi-city resolutions. So I think that's it. Any questions on that? I know uh council member Harrison on that, that they will come to me eventually and we'll go to um our neighboring mayors um for some follow-up on that. I don't know where we'll get on that, but um I will lead that uh if the council uh opts that that's something we want to do. I guess for the other council members, are we I mean we did pass our own version earlier this year, so I don't know if anything has changed, but is everybody is everybody good with the language that we had in both of those resolutions. Did we pass both of them or did we just pass one? I felt like we just I think these two were tabled. Tabled. And then the other one was half the housing, like the one related to housing passed. I think as we have an individual one and then the city one, so we had four in January. The housing one passed and that was sent. Yeah. And then these two were tabled. And the transportation industry. I think we just there I I recall just one. But maybe I'm yeah, well, I mean we have four. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah, that could be the case too. So we passed the housing one. Um, yeah, that's right. No, you're right. My understanding is housing passed both multi-city and lehigh transportation, both multi-city and lehigh was tabled so that staff could work with us on developing the right like process and numbers and all of those things, and then we were gonna revisit now. That's what I remember. Yeah, I think that's a good question. Yes, that's my that's my recollection and kind of what the I think the minutes reflected that.
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