The Heber Valley Corridor project is sitting in the middle of the path for a local developer and Heber City’s long-term plan.
Neil Goldman with Ångstrom Development Group said the firm never put pen to paper on its planned Harvest Village project without first consulting Envision Heber 2050, the community’s longterm plan for growth and development.
He said they planned the commercial and residential structure right at the mouth of the valley — at the intersection of U.S. 40 and River Road — to promote local businesses to the crowds Deer Valley East’s developments will bring to the area, hoping to use that traffic for Heber City.
He said the motivation goes beyond profit, and that he personally considered his daughters and the future of the community when planning the community.
And he said that the Utah Department of Transportation’s consideration of five potential routes for the Heber Valley Corridor — which would allow truckers and travelers to go around Heber City rather than congest its Main Street — has become an obstacle. Two of the alternative routes cut right through the center of his envisioned development and would make the intersection into a highway clover rather than an inviting doorway to Heber City.
UDOT hasn’t given him or anyone a timeline of when they will decide on which route they plan to pursue.
The firm, he told the Heber City Council on Tuesday, fully supports the bypass project and wants to see it completed before the 2034 Olympics.
“We also built Harvest Village as a representation of what we believed Heber City’s stakeholders and constituents were looking for,” he said. “UDOT may or may not have been aware of Heber City’s general plan that includes commercial density in the North Village overlay zone. Nevertheless, so they are aware and were acknowledging of the vested rights that were on our property, the 377 (equivalent residential units) for the resort.”
The developers worked with the current land owner and set up a deal, and they’ve began the process of annexing the land from Wasatch County into Heber City.
In the future, they will seek a legislative agreement from Heber City, which will necessitate a public hearing, to approve the development.
The biggest hurdle they need to climb — or, dare we say it, bypass — is the potential that they start the process only to lose their newly acquired land to UDOT at a fiscal loss.
To safeguard against that, they’re trying to get UDOT involved in their agreement.
Tuesday, Goldman tried to see if the council could protect them from potential future decisions from UDOT.
The attempts fell flat.
“We want to offer flexibility within our (master development agreement),” he told the council. “We’re comfortable putting language in there that would delay our ability to pull a permit until the end of (quarter one) of next year. For now we’ll call that about eight months.”
Given that potential eight-month waiting period, he provisions in the agreement that would dictate that “if UDOT selects a preferred route that interferes with Harvest Village, then UDOT will purchase the land and its appraised value plus any attributable pursuit costs.”
“Essentially, we break even,” he said. “We wouldn’t have to wait any longer for their decisions. And then, if at any time before that March 31, 2025, date, UDOT selects another route that doesn’t impact us, then we’re free to just get moving as though we were seeking any other permits.”
Mayor Heidi Franco, however, said the arrangement overestimates the amount of influence Heber City could have over a state entity.
“The city cannot bind UDOT,” she said. “They are a state-level agency, we cannot bind them in any way. So now it’s time to go back to that part of the drawing board and say, ‘Well, what can the city agree to?'”
UDOT Project Manager Craig Hancock was also a part of the conversation, though he was unable to provide many answers to Goldman’s questions.
He said the department is working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and until they can work through issues with them, he can’t provide any sort of a timeline.
He also said he couldn’t speak about whether UDOT would be willing to buy the land per Goldman’s proposed arrangement.
“It requires an approved environmental document, and it requires funding,” he said. “Those are the two key points there.”
Councilor Mike Johnston pushed him on his answer, and he added that the process could be shortened in some cases.
Throughout the conversation, it became clear Heber City councilors’ patience for UDOT’s delayed and extended deadlines is waning, as they are forced in a sort of moderator’s chair between the state agency and a developer looking to further their community plan.
The ultimate question, Councilor Sid Ostergaard said, is when will the corridor route be selected.
“I know, Craig, it’s hard for UDOT,” he said. “But I think what this is doing is holding up what we’ve been doing with the general plan, the 2050. This whole area is supposed to become a village center, and that was based on public comment. That was based on years of involvement, and if there’s something that’s going to take away from that, we need to know that.”
Johnston spoke even more forcefully about the repercussions of UDOT’s timelines on the community.
“I really appreciate UDOT’s efforts, Craig, but the feeling now in the community is we’re kind of being abused. It just keeps going and going and going, and it’s causing a lot of unsettledness and contention. It’s difficult for us now, and it’s becoming worse,” he said. “We have master plans. We have general plans. We have ideas and expectations. Things are happening, moving forward around us. Jordanelle’s booming. MIDA’s booming. There’s six more hotels coming. This intersection, I will say, will become the busiest and the most important significant intersection in this county. I’m not being critical, Craig, but I fear that UDOT is not being being creative enough and realizing that.”
He said he feels UDOT isn’t paying enough attention to the intersection, and that Heber City put its faith in UDOT and is beginning to lose that faith. He wants the community to have a seat at the table.
“I hear your frustration, Mike, I appreciate that,” he said. “We didn’t want to overcomplicate an already complicated study. … Hearing your frustrations, maybe there’s more we can do there.”
Goldman, meanwhile, hopes to get started on Harvest Village sooner rather than later. He plans to again meet with UDOT and the council to work out a development agreement.
“I think collectively this city has liked our plan and has loved the idea of annexing this property,” he said.
Then, addressing UDOT’s current consideration, he added, “We don’t need to be at the crosshairs of that decision. I’m trying to help get that decision moved along.”