The council is set to discuss Dakota Pacific’s proposal to build commercial and residential units in land currently zoned for a tech park in Kimball Junction.
But recent legislative action has left council members in limbo: Senate Bill 84, which passed both state chambers last week, could bypass the council and allow Dakota Pacific to build without their approval.
The bill has garnered well-organized opposition, from residents and the county government itself, which says SB84 seizes local land use authority.
Gov. Spencer Cox has not yet signed the bill into law. But at his monthly news conference last Thursday, he spoke about Utah’s housing shortage, saying he thinks increasing supply is important to bring down prices.
“Some cities are great at this. And I want to give a shout out to those cities that are working closely with developers to do it the right way, but also to get more supply,” Cox said. “And some are terrible at it. Some are just doing everything possible to prevent any building from happening anywhere.”
He also gave California a shout out for providing a model, albeit extreme, for how state governments can step in and encourage further development.
“Some cities are kind of losing zoning authority completely. And you're seeing thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of new apartments and homes going up in places where there has been no building for decades,” Cox said. “And I think we can get where we need to be without going extreme like that.”
Currently, Cox can sign the bill into law, veto it or allow it to become law by taking no action at all.
Wednesday night will just be a work session on Dakota Pacific’s development, so the council will neither take action nor receive public comment on the matter.
County Manager Shayne Scott said that the state legislative session has raised lots of uncertainty that needs to be addressed.
“When you have a legislation like SB84, that did pass, I think it does lend itself to having some discussions about, ‘What does this mean for us?’” Scott said. “But I think at this point, we're just not sure.”
The council will also hold a work session on a potential cemetery in the Snyderville Basin. It’s been nearly a decade since the council last worked on the project.
Next steps include appointing a five-member board to govern the cemetery district and actually deciding where a cemetery might go within the Snyderville Basin.
Deputy Council Manager Janna Young and Economic Development & Housing Director Jeff Jones will debrief the Council’s strategic planning retreat at the meeting. Then the council will consider approving its 2023 work plan, a process it has undergone annually since 2018.
The council will meet at the Richins Building in Kimball Junction from 12:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. Public comment on anything not on the agenda opens at 6 p.m., otherwise the council will adjourn.
Residents can attend via Zoom by clicking this link.
