In the simplest terms, the Cedar Crest Village Overlay is a collaboration between two dozen property owners who want to bring their 1,000 acres together to plan a new town.
The overlay would stand in contrast to the smaller development projects historically seen on the East side, which county officials have said are a byproduct of disjointed land planning. Piecemeal development has been a problem because it makes it difficult to tie subdivisions together with support services like sewer systems or commercial centers where people can buy groceries and necessities.
At a joint meeting earlier this year, members of the Summit County Council praised the Cedar Crest Overlay planning process, and the Eastern Summit County Planning Commission unanimously voiced support for the idea.
East Side Planning Commissioner Tom Clyde said at the time that the new town includes a “frightening amount of density” but added that it’s a chance to get land-planning right.
The Cedar Crest Village Overlay Committee has created a land use map that identifies in broad strokes where certain elements of the town should go: its Main Street businesses, clusters of homes and school sites.
Summit County Development Director Pat Putt said the purpose of Thursday’s meeting is to re-engage the public, as input hasn’t been taken on the plan since 2019. Putt emphasized that the village overlay is simply a plan, and doesn’t authorize any building or density allotment.
Sometime next year, the East Side Planning Commission could forward recommendations for two things: a land use map for the area, and an ordinance establishing how it would be zoned and where infrastructure would be placed.
Those would both have to be approved by the Summit County Council.
After that, developers would still have to follow the standard planning process in order to get permits to build.
The public input session will be at the Ledges Event Center in Coalville on Thursday, Dec. 1 starting at 6 p.m. A Zoom link to attend virtually can be found here.
