Friends and Neighbors,

January started with a bang! We’re well into the new year and ready to work.

Harvest Village/Crossings Annexation

The biggest topic on the agenda for our meetings was the Harvest Village/Crossings annexation into Heber City. These two developments are on the east and west of Highway 40 at the River Road light on Highway 40. This area has been planned by the county to be a town Center/Resort designation for several years. Now realize as I mention the county, I am not trying to blame them or throw them under the bus, however I am just stating facts that need to be known. Tensions were extremely high and, in some cases, overflowing in the community as we tried to finalize the agreements to allow the annexation to proceed. This is an area that has been on our agreed upon annexation map with the county for years. A development agreement was previously approved by the county to allow for a water park, stacked flats on the east and west sides of the highway, and a hotel and gas station on the east side of the highway. We had been discussing this annexation petition for months and had only a few more details to work out before approving the projects to move forward. The positives in all of this are the following:

• The developments will provide 75 ERU equivalents of workforce housing

  • Crossings also agreed to $40,000 fee in lieu

  • Harvest Village Agreed to $60,000 fee in lieu

• We will be collecting $2,500 per ERU for open space purchases

  • Allows for purchase of development rights in North Fields

  • Approximately $2,000,000 in value

• Harvest Village has no Heber City services aside from police

  • Roads are privately maintained

  • Water and sewer are provided by NVSSD/JSSD

• Crossings plans to finish a main connector road from Coyote Lane to HWY 32

  • Will cost over $15,000,000, money Heber City will not have to pay

• Will offer alternatives for people coming to enjoy the ski resorts as demand continues to increase

• There is more open space required under the new MDAs than previous versions in the county

I was interviewed by KPCW after the vote was finalized and I basically said we are trying to take some lemons and make lemonade. The horse left the barn on these properties 20 years ago when they bonded for sewer and water to support the densities they were granted by the county. Bringing these properties into Heber City is strategic as we seek continuity throughout the North Village and connectivity with roads and access. We also want to participate in the sales tax and property tax revenues that will be generated to help alleviate other projects that we need to complete in town. Progress is hard and can be painful, but remaining in the same position never happens. If we sit and do nothing, progress will happen all around us while we still have the impacts and the problems without any participation in the opportunities. Mike Johnston said it best in the meeting when he brought up Park City and how they were invited to annex Kimball Junction and did not do it - it happened anyway.

Our Growing Neighborhood

They are dealing with the Dakota proposed development now and also did not annex it. It was approved by Summit County and now it may become its own incorporated town. This is the struggle we will always be battling in this valley. It is such a desirable place to live and the growth is going to continue and we need to be ready. In the county meeting a few weeks ago, it was discussed that in Wasatch County we currently have 38,000 residents and with projects approved and on the books we have potential to reach 80,000 residents by 2050. Those are just the projects that are already approved to be completed. Much of that density will be second homes and vacation properties, but the growth is here and coming and we really need to focus on the quality of that growth. I would also say we really need to focus on the preservation of the North Fields. Once UDOT has their alignment for the bypass figured out, we need to come together as a community and decide how best to preserve the North Fields for the generations to follow. It really is the crown jewel of this valley and open space soothes the soul.

Highlands/SITLA Project

There is another project that has been proposed that I will refer to as Highlands/SITLA. SITLA owns property east of town, east of Red Ledges and they are wanting to build “affordable housing” on that parcel. The governor has sent forth a mandate of small single family homes that cost $400,000 or less and has given SITLA authority to develop properties they own around the state with this mandate. As much as I would love to see small detached homes in Heber City that are less than $400,000, that is not a reality in this valley. I stood up in a meeting with the Governor and said, “We have been building in Heber and no matter what we do, we are not having an impact on the pricing in the market. The more we build the more things cost.” He said to me, “Then you are doing it wrong.” We really need to convince SITLA that this is not the right place for their project and that we should work on a land swap or alternative means to try and accomplish the goal of the Governor. We discussed the potential expansion of the Heber City Annexation map in the interlocal meeting with the county and other jurisdictions present. The decision from that meeting was to allow the county to take the lead and get the city involved if it looks like the State is going to use pressure to build what they want to build. The Heber City Planning Commission also heard from SITLA and the developer and gave a recommendation to

the city to expand the annexation map as they are seeming to be more forceful in their

deliberations and we want to be part of those negotiations. These discussions are ongoing but I am opposed to any increase of density in the county outside of our current agreed upon annexation plan.

Our Annual Retreat

We had our annual retreat this month and there is so much happening in the coming years to transform Heber City that will be really amazing. The main focus of the entire council for 2025 is to finish the bandshell project on 200 S and continue with plans to phase in the construction of the plaza. We also want to set in motion the C Street plans to allow for more parking and walking in the core downtown area promoting a walking district for outdoor dining with the main focus on a place for the locals to come. An overwhelming majority agreed this is a priority for the city. UDOT and the bypass road are also on all of our minds as traffic has become the number one issue in Heber City and it will only get worse if nothing is done. We are anticipating UDOT finalizing the route options sometime later this year or early next year and then we can prepare for that project which is sure to have impacts. Midway and Charleston have also seen increases in their traffic, as people are using Midway as a default bypass road. One of my priorities is to have the first city sponsored deed restricted workforce housing off the ground in 2025-2026. This gives opportunities to city and county employees to buy a home in the valley and to live where they work with a deed restriction in perpetuity so that the second buyer receives the same benefit.

As we head into February, I understand the tenor of national politics has been intense. Local

politics does not need to reflect the national stage. Let’s find ways to work together and listen to each other basing our decisions on the facts at hand and not just in the emotion of the decision. There is a heightened level of emotional distress all over the country right now and I plead with the citizens of Heber Valley to rise above it. We cannot close the door on growth, but we can steer it and make sure Heber City will be better for it 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years from now.

Thank you, friends and neighbors, and I’m looking forward to an excellent year!

Sincerely,

D. Scott Phillips

Heber City Council