Over the past few months, Heber City and Wasatch County leaders have collaborated on an annexation policy that works for both jurisdictions.
Specifically, they’re concerned about the future of over 4,000 acres east of Red Ledges. The land includes about 3,500 acres owned by the Christensen family, as well as 720 acres of state trust land. Developers proposed creating a village center on the land, with a range of home types and sizes, as well as shopping, municipal buildings and other amenities.
County leaders disapproved of the idea – and wrote to Heber to say so. That warning from Wasatch County prompted the two governments to draw up a memorandum of understanding about the land’s future.
Heber promised not to annex the properties back in March. With that land off the table, city manager Matt Brower said it’s unlikely Heber will grow much more beyond the recently approved, 95-acre North Village annexation.
“The Harvest Village is identified as part of our North Village area,” he said. “That’s why it was annexed by the city.”
Leaders created the North Village Overlay Zone as an area for higher density some years back. But Brower said the agricultural North Fields, adjacent to the North Village, don’t fall under that designation.
“The city has no designs on annexing the North Fields, has no intentions to,” he said. “In fact, it’s not even in the city’s annexation policy plan.”
Landowner Mark Wilson is in the process of trying to incorporate the North Fields as a town called River View to ensure it remains farmland. He wants to avoid what he described as the risk of “annexation without representation.”
But Brower said that’s a needless fear because Heber will honor a 2019 agreement with the county, in which both governments agreed to avoid developing or rezoning the North Fields.
In fact, he said, Heber’s borders likely won’t expand much more any time soon.
“You probably won’t see a lot more annexation happening,” he said. “You’ll see a couple infill parcels in the North Village area, but you won’t see a lot of annexation happening the next few years.”
Heber City has already signed the new agreement regarding the land east of town.
Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau said the county council will discuss and possibly sign the memo at its meeting Wednesday, May 7.
“This [memorandum of understanding] is just an agreement between Heber City and Wasatch County that this particular property will continue to work with Wasatch County under our land use,” he said.
In the document, Heber promises not to annex land east of town in exchange for the county approving only low density on the state trust land. The county would also commit to working with the city on a transportation plan.
It’s not clear what kind of development is planned for the Christensen land.
The Wasatch County Council meeting begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday. For an agenda and a link to attend online, visit the county website.
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