The land includes about 3,500 acres owned by the Christensen family and 720 acres held by the Utah Trust Lands Administration. The two properties will be developed together.
The future of the land has been hotly debated by Wasatch County and Heber City leaders, mostly because they disagree about how much density is appropriate for the area east of Red Ledges.
Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau said the developer will share a new proposal with the county council Wednesday. This comes after the trust lands administration said earlier this year it’s targeting around 900 units of housing.
“I think the general indication from my council has been that 894 is too much, and we kind of have asked them [the developers] to come back with as low as they could go as far as density, to see what is under consideration,” Grabau said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Tuesday.
According to county council meeting materials from this spring, developers have previously considered options including upwards of 2,000 townhomes or hundreds of one-acre lots.
The state has no obligation to adhere to the county’s wishes. Its primary goal is to generate money for Utah schools.
“This is an entity that was basically given previously federal property for the benefit of, primarily, students in Utah,” Grabau said. “Their role is to take advantage of the trust, the funds and the property [they’re] given, to leverage those funds into funding schools.”
The land is currently zoned for 160-acre lots. Grabau said that since the property is mountainous and includes critical watershed, the county council doesn’t want to see a lot of development there.
How trust land is used varies around the state. Some property is developed, like land in Washington County that will become a hospital and planned community. Other parcels are available for mining or energy and mineral leases. The administration also regularly holds land auctions.
The county council meeting begins at 4 p.m. Wednesday. An agenda and a link to attend online are available on the county website.
