Councilmembers worried about the impacts of more traffic and higher density during a discussion of the proposed Celebration workforce housing development Tuesday, April 2, even as they recognized the need for more affordable units in Heber.
The development received a positive recommendation from the planning commission last August. It could bring 230 apartments to the intersection of 400 East and 1200 South, near Wasatch High School, and would be intended for workers such as school district and hospital employees.
City leaders said there’s more work to be done before they’d be willing to approve development plans, however.
The location along 1200 South, a busy traffic artery, is one worry.
“I have very serious concerns about the traffic impacts of this project,” city engineer Russ Funk said. “I would say the area in our city that has the most problems with traffic right now is 1200 South.”
Councilmember Scott Phillips said he wants to ensure the housing is truly for locals.
“It just has to be Wasatch County workers,” he said. “We don’t want to be building this for the visa holders that come and work at the ski resorts in the wintertime… We don’t want to be building this for Park City. That’s the main thing.”
The room agreed employees need more affordable places to live in the Heber Valley, and soon. Applicant Russ Watts said he’s talking with school district Superintendent Paul Sweat and other district leaders about the plans.
“We explained the project, and Paul slammed his hands down on the table and said, ‘We need this project now. We need 50 to 70 of these units to be available for our teachers,’” he said.
If approved, units in the development will be rented to workers who earn 60% to 80% of the area median income. For a family of four, that would be less than $98,000 per year.
Despite critiques, councilmembers were generally supportive of building more workforce housing in Heber. The developer will make some changes to the proposal based on their feedback, and the city council will continue to discuss the plans.