Similar to last May — when Wright Development Group asked for permission to build apartments, townhomes and commercial space — the city council balked at the number of homes in the proposal again this week.
The same three voted against the request to incorporate the land into city limits: Rachel Kahler, Yvonne Barney and Ryan Stack.
Stack said it was not a large enough reduction in homes to change his mind.
“I know things have been shifted around,” he said. “But I remain concerned about the amount of density that we are potentially approving given what's coming online with New London and Sawmill.”
In recent years, the council has annexed much of the land around the site of the College Downs proposal and approved thousands of homes to be built there.
Stack said to approve the College Downs proposal Tuesday would have gone against a promise he made at the beginning of this year not to approve more stacked flats.
On an 18-acre parcel of land, the proposal was to build roughly 200 townhomes and 25 apartments.
Councilmember Mike Johnston voted in favor of the annexation and development.
“I think we've looked at this five or six times,” he said. “It's been a year and a half. I think we've hit the best. We've really pushed and pushed and pushed you, and you've still come back and added more commercial. I really liked that. That's excellent.”
He also pointed out that the developers got approval to build far more homes on the same land if they don’t annex it into Heber City.
Years ago, the county granted permission to develop homes on the land. But if the land is annexed into Heber City, the developer can use the city sewer system and other city services at its buildings.
Back in May, the three Heber City councilmembers who opposed it said they would only allow a little over half the density Wasatch County promised, according to numbers presented in a staff report.
The vote on Tuesday means the land is still part of unincorporated Wasatch County, and the development will not proceed, at least for now.
