The planning commission is considering tweaks to the annexation policy to accommodate two pieces of property that sit along the city boundary. For either to be annexed, the city’s expansion area would need to be changed.
The first, known as the Wellburg property, is just over 300 acres adjacent to the Red Ledges neighborhood on the eastern side of town. The landowner has applied for annexation into Heber City.
The area’s zoning currently permits one dwelling for every 160 acres, and the two homes the owner wants to build would be a little bit higher density than the county would allow. If annexed into the city, the property owner promised to provide 30 acres of land for a trail easement.
Shelton Taylor, who attended the meeting to represent the property owner, explained.
“As I understand, it will be deeded to Red Ledges, that 30 acres, as a trail open space area, and I think they are planning on a parking area construction and trailhead,” he said. “So it’ll be a nice amenity.”
The second property, which belongs to the Baum family, was on the agenda because of an error when the annexation map was originally drawn, according to city planning director Tony Kohler.
“That’s not what we intended. We thought we included all of their properties,” he said. “And they said, ‘Well, gosh, we can’t really deal with annexing just part of our property – please consider adding the rest of our properties to the map.’”
Making changes to the annexation map requires several steps, including seeking the county’s input. Next, the planning commission must hold a public hearing – that’s scheduled for May 14.