The Highlands is a community of over 800 homes under construction near the Utah Valley University Wasatch campus, north of downtown Heber.
Developers want to use public infrastructure districts, or PIDs, to help pay for things like roads and utilities in the neighborhood.
PIDs enable developers to issue bonds to cover infrastructure costs. The bonds are then repaid, using special assessments or property taxes, by those who buy property within the district.
Max Martin, representing the developer, said at a meeting Tuesday, July 7, the PIDs will help lower home prices and support affordable housing in the neighborhood.
“Attainable housing is our main goal,” he said. “There’s no city liability or risk with this PID.”
Martin estimated that with the PID, homes would be about $40,000 less expensive, and buyers would see a little over $800 in savings every year.
However, property taxes would be more expensive – about $430 per month with a PID compared to roughly $300 per month without.
The development will include 55 affordable townhomes.
Infrastructure will cost an estimated $40 million, but the developers anticipate using PIDs to cover a little over half that amount, around $22 million.
Additionally, 5-10% of the bond dollars would be reserved for public improvements, such as amenities for the park in the neighborhood or extending the paved path along U.S. 40.
Mayor Heidi Franco wanted to see a specific list of how the bonds would be spent, but Councilmember Aaron Cheatwood said the structure of this PID looks different from other projects the city has seen, like Jordanelle Ridge.
“There is no public benefit,” he said. “They are buying down the cost of the actual infrastructure, and as a result, they can then afford to build homes for less money.”
Councilmembers have had mixed reactions to the proposal.
A few locals raised concerns about PIDs during the public hearing portion of the evening.
Russ Funk spoke as a county resident, not in his capacity as city engineer. He worried about whether the PIDs would deliver on the promise of lower home prices.
“These guys have come in and said, ‘We are going to help with affordability. We’re going to take that subsidy and we’re going to give it back to the property owners,’” he said. “The only thing I think I want to say is, I think we need to make sure that there’s something in the agreement or the documents that enforce that.”
And Linda Middleton said she was concerned about the environmental impacts of all the new development in the valley.
The council didn’t make any decisions Tuesday. It will discuss the plans again July 21.
Heber City is a financial supporter of KPCW.
