City Council Work Session - March 4, 2025

Meeting Summary

The March 4 work session featured two main agenda items: a presentation on the Lehi City Grant Program and a discussion of the Attainable Housing Overlay Zone. Analyst Matthew Lee presented an update on the city's grant program, reviewing grant activity and opportunities for the coming year. The housing discussion built on months of public debate around the Attainable Homeownership Overlay Zone (AHOZ), which would allow developers to build homes priced approximately 20 percent below market rate in exchange for increased density, with homes reserved for first-time buyers and essential workers. The AHOZ concept had received a negative recommendation from the Planning Commission in December 2024, with commissioners raising concerns about the methodology for setting home prices, potential impacts on surrounding property values, and whether developers would genuinely pass density savings on to consumers. The work session gave council members an opportunity to discuss the proposal in a less formal setting and explore potential modifications before any formal vote. The attainable housing debate was one of the defining policy discussions of early 2025, reflecting Lehi's challenge of maintaining affordability in one of Utah's fastest-growing cities where median home prices have risen significantly in recent years.