City Council - March 18, 2025

Meeting Summary

The March 18 Lehi City Council meeting was one of the most consequential sessions of early 2025, running past 1 a.m. as the council debated and voted on several major items. The centerpiece was a tax increment financing agreement for the Morning Vista development, a 29-acre mixed-use project in northeast Lehi that will bring a Whole Foods grocery store, 133,000 square feet of retail space, 285 residential units (11 deed-restricted for low-to-moderate income housing), and approximately 900 parking stalls. The council approved the TIF in a 3-1 vote, with Councilwoman Michelle Stallings dissenting. Under the agreement, the developer will receive 100% of sales tax revenue from the project for the first 8 years, 80% for the next 4 years, and 60% for the remaining 3 years, capped at $7,927,672. Stallings questioned giving up all sales tax revenue in the early years, while supporters argued the project would generate an estimated $20 million in franchise taxes and create 900 to 1,000 jobs with wages ranging from $16.30 to $39.11 per hour. The Alpine School District and Utah County both declined to participate in the TIF. The council also unanimously approved keeping Lehi's Family Park open on Sundays, with the city using reserves to fund the additional staffing for the remainder of 2025. Mayor Mark Johnson and council members attributed previous vandalism at the park to frustration over the Sunday closures. In a significant infrastructure move, the council unanimously approved the issuance and sale of up to $20 million in franchise and sales tax revenue bonds to finance the city's fiber telecommunications system. On land use matters, the council approved a zone change for a 0.16-acre parcel at 610 East State Street from R-2 residential to commercial for a proposed accounting office but denied an 18-acre zone change in Holbrook Farms from commercial to residential. Mayor Johnson cautioned against continuing to substitute residential development for planned commercial areas. The council also approved a privacy space compliance plan for city restrooms and changing rooms, approved a Development Code amendment removing property purchase restrictions, tabled Community Development Block Grant allocations due to federal budget uncertainty, and tabled the Starter Home Attainability Residential Overlay for further discussion.