For 50 years, Wasatch High School has offered a homebuilding class as part of its career and technical education (CTE) program.
Teacher Canyon Prusso said the program helps people think more highly about the trades, gives kids key skills and helps address the shortage of attainable housing for teachers and district employees.
But the program is almost out of land to build on, unless the school district and the Wasatch County Council can find a creative solution.
The district owns a little under nine acres of land near Timpanogos Middle School, east of downtown Heber.
Prusso told the county council at a meeting Nov. 12 it could be a good fit for a small neighborhood built by future CTE students, but to make that happen, it needs to be rezoned for higher density.
“We want the council to know that with support, and if this goes through somehow, that we take the design of this community seriously, that we want it to be a bright spot in the larger community and the neighborhood that it sits in,” he said.
He said the district would like to request density of a quarter acre per unit, then build three or four clusters of eight units, leaving some green space for the neighborhood.
“The construction would be student-led,” he said. “The district’s not making any money off of this. The properties would be deed-restricted; priority would go to essential workers, especially district employees.”
He said some local architectural firms have agreed to offer pro bono consulting for the class.
Students in the homebuilding program say they enjoy it and want it to continue.
One student, Will, told the council that after watching relatives work in architecture and construction, the career path didn’t appeal to him at first.
“And then I started doing this homebuilding class, and it’s been amazing,” he said. “Like, it is my favorite class by far.”
Another student, Dios, said he thinks the class will help him become an architect by giving him more appreciation for all that goes into constructing a house. Along the way, the teenagers learn about how utilities are installed.
“All the hands-on stuff we do is helping me a lot in understanding not just framing, but all the small stuff, like plumbing and electricity,” he said.
Once constructed, the homes are sold or leased to district employees for the amount they cost to build.
For district employees, Heber’s housing supply can be a barrier to staying with the district. Sarah Duncan, who teaches at Timpanogos Middle School, said being chosen to move into one of the homes has been a game-changer.
“Last year, I lived in Provo and drove the canyon every day,” she said. “And so, I feel really grateful for this program, and it offered me a chance to live in this valley and hopefully one day stay here forever.”
Joe Witt is a contractor who’s helping with this year’s class. He spoke bluntly about the need for the county’s help.
“The end of the runway for this class is in sight. The district owns one more lot,” he said.
He said the county council has the power to ensure a valuable program continues.
“I know what the problem is, but it’s kind of – everybody’s dancing around it,” he said. “Gosh-damn zoning. Every time, every freaking time: zoning. And it’s like, well, guess what? You guys can change zoning. Problem made by man can be solved by man. And zoning is made by man.”
Right now, the county code only allows one home per acre.
Councilmember Colleen Bonner worried that offering a zoning exception to the district might “open a can of worms” to other requests for higher density in the area. But Councilmember Kendall Crittenden said he thinks the high school program is unique enough to warrant approval.
“I think we can specialize this enough to keep that pressure from, ‘Well, you did it for them. Why not for us?’” he said. “Well, because you don’t have the same mission.”
Wasatch County planning director Doug Smith told the council a legislative development agreement would be the “most nimble” way to help the program continue. He said details about the plans will help him and the county attorney draft an agreement that’s specific to the project.
