September 8, 2021 | General Meeting

Voting

5-0 to continue a public hearing on the Olympia MDA

5-0 to continue a public hearing on the annexation of the Olympia development

5-0 approving the Consent Agenda, which includes:

• August 24th Board of Canvassers meeting minutes
• Monthly financial summary
• Pay scale adjustment for Herriman Police

4-1 approving flag lot ordinance amendment

• 3-2 denying an initial motion to approve a flag lots on minor collector roads

General Meeting

Olympia MDA Public Hearing

The Council discussed a few items in the Olympia master development agreement (MDA) conversations, including the following:

• The MDA uses general leasable square footage rather than acreage to measure commercial requirements. The Council would like to see an analysis for proposed commercial numbers, but for now, 300,000 sq. ft. is drafted in the document as a minimum requirement
• The project's independent review committee (IRC) was removed and the subdivision/development application process was re-drafted
• There are now stricter, scalable minor/major park amenity requirements
• The City will construct the "K" park, which straddles the border between Olympia and the Hidden Oaks development. Olympia will donate land in its project to essentially match what is being constructed in Hidden Oaks. The City requested an upsize of the park, and to help continuity from the Hidden Oaks side, the City will design and construct the entire park. The park will include a stormwater retention element, which the developer will be responsible to fund and construct.
• A park will be constructed along 6400 West that will allow for programmable playing field space. The Council expressed a desire that enough open space be provided in areas to best help alleviate denser land uses.
• Residential unit count (6,330) in the project—the developer expressed they are not interested in negotiating the number down, and that analysis and studies done for the project to this point have assumed the 6,330 number.

It was noted that a few numbers the MDA (like the commercial area requirement) reflects discussion points and not necessarily agreed-upon negotiated points. It was mentioned that the Salt Lake County MDA for Olympia did not have a requirement for minimum commercial space. The developer also mentioned that members of the City Council initially approached them many months ago to consider annexation, and that through this process, the project has been refined into a better product.

 Two resident comments in the public hearing:

• Asking that citizens and citizen groups be in work group meetings, that there should be commercial phasing requirements (and more minimum commercial space), and that councilmembers from adjacent districts should be more involved.
• Supporting annexation because it boosts commercial opportunities, particularly restaurants.

Olympia annexation Public Hearing

A separate public hearing, the Council heard two comments regarding the annexation of the Olympia property:

• Supporting annexation, citing benefits to the City in aspects of planning and finances
• Opposing the construction of Olympia

The Council discussed holding a special work meeting on September 15th to discuss the MDA and a special general meeting on September 29th to make a final decision about Olympia. The regularly-scheduled September 22nd meeting will be held as planned.

City Council comments and recognitions

Councilmember Ohrn commended a recent concert by Alex Boyé at Crane Park on Tuesday, September 7th. The concert wasn't City-sponsored, but City staff helped facilitate the event. The event organizers complimented the City on helping figure out details that the organizers would have missed. The concert was geared toward youth mental health. 

General Public Comments summary

• A resident building a shop in the back of his property was frustrated with the building permit process and asked for more accountability from the City
• Three residents suggested the City help with costs associated with flooding in their basements during a recent major rainstorm
• Request for the Council to consider a resolution of a pro-life stance regarding abortion
• Request for a home playing field for Herriman High School Rugby within the Olympia development
• Request that the City Council reconsider legal hunting areas to exclude trails in Herriman's hillside to avoid mountain bikers and hunters in too close of proximity 

Board and committee reports

Councilmember Smith, reporting from the Wasatch Front Regional Council, said the WFRC is working on updated Wasatch Choice Plan. They have a tentative workshop in southwestern SLCo October 25th. More information will be forthcoming.

Flag lot ordinance amendment

The Council discussed and adopted an amendment to the flag lot ordinance. Some adjustments were made to help clean up some frustrations (like inadvertent double fencing or required vinyl material for fencing). The Council discussed a proposed standard to allow flag lots on minor collector roads (they currently are not), and the majority preferred to continue disallowing their implementation on minor collectors.

Work Meeting

Form for pioneering agreements

A pioneering agreement is a reimbursement tool that cities, including Herriman, use to reimburse developers who install improvements (storm drain, road, etc) beyond their legal requirement. These cases have been handled on a case-by-case basis previously. The City Council would like to explore creating a basic form agreement for the City to use. The City Attorney will draft the form and return to the Council.

General Plan

The Planning Commission has reviewed the draft general plan and recommended it be approved with certain adjustments. The City Council wished to hear comments from and work with the Planning Commission in detail. The two groups will meet for a joint meeting, likely on October 15th.

Olympia Public Infrastructure District (PID)

A draft governing document of potential PIDs for the Olympia development has been prepared for the City Council to review. In Olympia's case, these PIDs would be used to finance public infrastructure (roads, water lines, etc.), repaid by fees the developer assesses to building companies. No residents would be charged those fees, and no tax levy would be involved. The governing document was drafted by the City's bond legal counsel. The City Attorney stated he feels comfortable with the language of the document. The Council has full discretion to approve the document at a future meeting. It was said that this is an innovative solution to ensure infrastructure precedes development rather than following it. It was also noted that the developer has been very collaborative throughout the process of forming this creative idea.

Meeting agenda and video