Tuesday, January 9, 2024
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The Lehi City Council opened its first regular meeting of 2024 with a ceremonial start: newly elected council members Paige Albrecht, Heather Newall, and Michelle Stallings were sworn into office by Judge Morgan Cummings. The pre-council session also featured a clean annual financial audit report presented by Dana Howell of Osbourne, Robbins & Buhler, who reported full compliance with state requirements and no significant findings, while praising city staff for their responsiveness. Council members also received their annual required training on Utah's Open Meetings Act, conflict-of-interest statutes, and meeting procedures. On the development front, the council unanimously approved several land-use items: a one-year extension for the Hidden Canyon D4 subdivision (10 lots at 1731 West Royal Circle), Ordinance #01-2024 rezoning 1.18 acres at 116 South 600 East from Transitional Holding to Neighborhood Commercial, and Ordinance #03-2024 rezoning 3.6 acres at approximately 1700 North Boston Street from Transitional Holding to Light Industrial. The council also approved a plat amendment for Gardner Point Phase 6 removing seven single-family lots and converting that land to open space after the developer discovered an undocumented fill area on the site; those seven lots are expected to be relocated to another area of the development at a future meeting. The meeting's most debated item was the Marwood Group's concept plan for a five-story, 31-unit apartment building at 301 East State Street in the city's Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zone. Council members expressed concern that approving 31 units on a small footprint could consume a large share of the TOD zone's 250-unit housing allocation and limit future development potential in the area. An initial motion to approve as presented failed 2–3. A second motion passed 4–1 capping the project at 25 units, while leaving open the possibility of revisiting the density cap if subsequent traffic and access studies support higher density. Mayor Johnson recused himself from the Beacon Point vote, disclosing that developer Larry Lindstrom is one of his primary clients. Led by Mayor Pro Tempore Paul Hancock, the council unanimously approved Ordinance #02-2024 rezoning 0.80 acres at 1054 West Main Street from Commercial to Mixed-Use, along with a concept plan for a 9-unit, two-story mixed-use building. The developers had reduced the project from a three-story, 17-unit design in response to neighbor concerns raised at the Planning Commission. Residents at the meeting acknowledged the concessions but continued to raise concerns about traffic near the adjacent Veterans Park traffic circle and the potential precedent for neighboring properties. The next regular council meeting is scheduled for January 23, 2024.