Nick Provost owns land near the new high school under construction west of downtown Heber. He applied for about 32 acres of farmland near 500 North and 600 West to be annexed into the city and used for residential development.
At a Heber City Council meeting Nov. 5, leaders considered whether to accept Provost’s annexation application, the first step in the process. If they voted yes, it wouldn’t annex the property – it would simply move the proposal forward for further study.
But after about an hour of discussion, councilmembers denied the application, telling Provost the amount of density wasn’t right for the location.
City planner Jamie Baron explained the land is currently zoned for one home on every five acres.
“The concept plan that you’ve seen is not consistent with that. They are asking for densities higher than that,” he said. “We’re looking at apartments, townhomes, single-family – we’re looking at 312 units. The density is about seven units per acre.”
Provost envisioned a development including 180 apartments, 82 townhomes and 50 single-family houses.
Councilmember Sid Ostergaard acknowledged the location is logical for a new neighborhood in some ways.
“It makes sense to have some density next to a school, a high school, if it is reasonably priced,” he said. “But again, there’s a lot of hurdles.”
Those challenges include traffic and utilities. Plus, the area is wetlands.
Councilmember Yvonne Barney agreed with Ostergaard about the location, but she wasn’t sure the developer would make good on the promise of affordable units, based on watching other developments pan out.
“As of yet, I have seen nothing that is affordable,” she said. “Our community is struggling and trying to find property that is truly attainable for the community and for teachers. They are not looking to live in apartments, they are not looking to live in small cubicles, they’re looking into trying to find smaller homes.”
She said she also couldn’t ignore the impact on the North Fields, which she described as the heart of the Heber Valley’s history.
Councilmember Aaron Cheatwood said he felt it was the wrong development for the spot.
“I would feel differently, probably, if they were just meandering, normal-size homes, or slightly bigger lot size homes,” he said.
And Councilmember Mike Johnston said right now he wants the city to focus on adding housing downtown and in the North Village area.
Barney, Cheatwood and Johnston voted not to accept the application. The motion to deny the annexation petition passed 3-2, with Ostergaard and Scott Phillips dissenting.
The council told Provost they would be more likely to consider an application on fewer acres and with fewer proposed homes in the future.
The council’s decision on the 32-acre Provost annexation application comes as the city is discussing whether to amend its annexation map to entertain an application for about 4,000 acres to be developed north of Red Ledges.
