Bellaview Place Concept Plan

Continued- My main concern is having entrances and exits on 3200 N. At a bare minimum I would implore the commission to require access to the project only from 1200 W.

Second, the three story storage facility is entirely inappropriate for the surrounding area. For one, two storage businesses are located just down 1200 W so there is no need for this project. And a three story building exceeds all heights of surrounding structures in the area (not counting Innovation Point which is along Timp Highway and can hardly be viewed as a comparison). Please limit the height of this project to fit the surrounding neighborhood. Thank you

I am encouraged that something will finally be done with the eyesore that has become of the corner of 1200W and 3200N. However, I would like to add my comment to those already expressed that this proposal as submitted needs to be rejected by the Planning Commission. Children walk to and from Fox Hollow elementary three times a day (including kindergarten and preschool) and are already at high risk due to the traffic congestion of this intersection.

I’m concerned about the traffic being on a walking route from the elementary school (Fox Hollow) just across/down the street. I can appreciate a fun walkable business adding to the neighborhood but I don’t think this is safe. I’m asking for adjustments on where the traffic enters and exits and on the businesses themselves to ensure my children’s and other children’s safety. Since 3200 is a major walking route from the school, I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable with an entrance or exit on that road. So I’m suggesting a few things:
1. No exits or entrances on 3200.
2. Buildings set further back so visibility is better. Look to the instacare across the street for inspiration.
3. No drive-throughs. Encourage sit down locations so people aren’t distracted with their food as they are pulling out of the parking lot.

And lastly, though less of a safety issue, the height of the storage facility will be an eyesore for residents in this neighborhood. Please keep all buildings to one story so as to add to the aesthetics of the neighborhood.

Thank you very much.

While I appreciate the idea of a walkable neighborhood shopping/commercial area, I do not think this plan creates this type of space in a safe way. My main concern as a parent of young child at the neighboring Fox Hollow Elementary is the safety of my child getting to and from school in the midst of so much traffic. The intersection of 1200 W/3200 N is already very busy at peak school walking hours, as those often coincide with peak commuting times. Adding multiple, or any, drive-thrus will exacerbate the situation. It will put children at risk and put undue burden on crossing guards trying to help them cross safely. Those coming out of the parking lot will likely be doing so in a hurry and I do not want my child's (or anyone else's child's) safety to be sacrificed so someone can get their lunch 2 minutes faster. I also would never want to be in a situation where I put a child's life at risk while driving and want to help other drivers stay out of this situation as well.

I have several suggestions to help with this issue. First, do not allow any drive-throughs on the premises. Commercial property that encourages longer stays, i.e. sit down/walk in restaurants will decrease the number of careless or hurried drivers near young children attempting to get to and from school safely. There are multiple nearby strip malls that offer drive-through options where people can go if needed. Since they are place in a more commercial setting, the safety concerns at Bellaview Place are not present. Second, require that all buildings are set further back from the road, similar to the nearby urgent care building. This allows better visibility when coming in and out of the parking lot. Third, approve a smaller parking area with fewer spots. From the comments I've read, there are several who are in favor of a walkable community gathering are. You can create this by having more seating and gathering spaces i.e. grass, tables, etc. If you have more places to park, more people will drive and safety will suffer. Fourth, only allow one entrance/exit from the space that is on 1200 W. The majority of the walking population uses 3200 N, so eliminating an entrance and exit to the commercial space on that road will alleviate some of the safety issues. If an entrance/exit must be place on 3200, it should be right turn only to lessen the traffic on that road and make it easier for cars and kids to see each other. Fifth, add an additional crosswalk on 3200 N just east of Bellaview Assisted Living Center. This will allow the students walking on 3200 N to school to cross before they encounter Bellaview Place traffic.

My second concern is for the height of the 3 story storage facility. There is nothing of that height in the surrounding area, making it an eyesore for the community. All buildings should be limited to 1 story.

As a planning commission, I hope you will prioritize the needs and safety of the surrounding community first, before those of developers. This should be a space that serves those of us who live here, that creates a space for members of the community to gather together safely. It should not put small children at risk or lower property values for those who have to now look at a massive storage facility out their back window. Consider the density of commercial building already going into the surrounding area and please try to mitigate any and all safety issues.

My biggest concern regarding the current Bellaview plan is the health and safety of the children walking to/from school who attend Fox Hollow Elementary. Hundreds of students cross the intersection at 1200 W/3200 N each day and especially with the increase in traffic and development in the area over the past few years, the safety of those students should be a top concern. Many students currently walk along the south side of 3200 N where one of the entrance/exit points to this new development is being proposed. My son and I have already experienced a close encounter while walking to school when a car pulled out of the Assisted Living facility next door this past year. I am concerned about the kids crossing the large entrance/exit on 3200 N, as currently included in the proposal. I would suggest that a new crosswalk is installed further east on 3200 N, past the commercial development proposal. Currently, the kids make two crossings at the intersection of 1200 W/3200 N. One crossing 1200 W on the north side of 3200 N, and then crossing 3200 N to south side of the street. By installing an additional crosswalk further east on 3200 N, the kids could cross the intersection only at 1200 W and then cross 3200 N further east past the commercial development. This would hopefully ease some pedestrian traffic at the already dangerous and busy 1200 W/3200 N intersection, as well as allow for the children walking to/from school to bypass the new commercial development (and the increase in traffic coming in and out of the development) entirely.
Another option could be to remove the entrance/exit on 3200 N from the development entirely or to designate it as a right turn only entrance/exit to help alleviate some of the traffic coming in and out of the commercial development.

As a parent of children that walk to school, I am concerned about the impact that the proposed Bellaview Place will have on the walking routes of students walking to/from Fox Hollow Elementary. Fox Hollow Elementary has an enrollment of around 800 students with a large portion being from the neighborhoods to the east. There is only one major access road to Fox Hollow Elementary which is along 3200 N. This causes the intersection of 1200 West/3200 N intersection to be very congested during peak school hours. The heavy traffic on the road already makes it nerve-wracking for students to cross the intersection. I hope that careful consideration will be given concerning the setbacks of new buildings from the road to maximize pedestrian visibility. Additionally I hope that careful consideration will be given to the placement of entrances/exits and how they will affect the hundreds of children walking along the sidewalk of the new development.

Several years ago, the IHC Lehi Medical office building was built kiddie-corner to this proposed development. I appreciate that IHC and the Lehi City Planning Commission were careful to place the medical office far from the corner and away from the children's walking path. Additionally, they did not put an entrance/exit along 3200 N so they could protect the children's safety on the sidewalk. I would hope that Jeff Southard - the developer of this Bellaview property- and the current Lehi City Planning Commission would be equally as cautious and responsible in adjusting this proposal to safeguard the neighborhood school children. I think it is important to remember that retail businesses may come and go over the years- but the elementary school will always be there. Please consider it in your planning!

I would also like to voice concern about this development being located directly next to an Assisted Living facility. I worry about the potential of the senior residents being drawn to the shopping center and becoming lost or confused right next to a busy intersection.

Last, I was surprised to see a 3 story storage unit proposed on the east edge of the property. This property is surrounded by residential homes. There is nothing that is 3 stories within view of this property. It seems like a 3 story building should be located in an area with a greater buffer between the building and the adjacent homes. Thank you.

I personally like this idea. I love having things close and love the idea of not having to drive far to have fast food. I do think congestion might be an issue so I hope this is looked into first. I also wish we could get a grocery store along 1200 maybe closer to the freeway. I love not having to drive!!

I am in favor of having some shopping within walking distance of my home (I live in Fox Run Neighborhood adjacent to this proposal), but this is not the right project for the area. As has been mentioned, and as anyone who has walked children to school across 3200 and 1200, the area already suffers from poor traffic flow twice a day - it really is only a matter of time before a child is struck by a car. This development will only make it worse.

I would like to echo what others have said that we do not want this area to have multiple drive throughs as that will only encourage more traffic. A nice strip mall with shops that encourage longer stays would provide the commerical benefits without also exacerbating an already frought pedestrian situation.

I would also like to comment on the proposed three level storage unit, a building unlike anything in the area. Such a building should be limited in height so as not to be so prominent to it's surroundings. Given the location even a two story building might be overkill.

I urge the planning commission to reconsider this development and take into account the safety of the school children first and foremost. It would also be nice to not have another tacky storage center in our area, but that could be mitigated by other restrictions.

We live in a nice area and I would like to see some more accomodations come closer to where we live, but this feels like the wrong plan, one that doesn't take into consideration the people who will have to live next to it.

As others have mentioned this is the WRONG concept for the area. There are only 2 lanes and tons of sidewalk traffic with the school’s proximity. I have nieces, nephews and grandkids who will be affected by this and I don’t want to lose one of them (or any child) so Lehi can have more drive through restaurants. There are plenty of other commercial areas in Lehi that fit this concept. This is a recipe for disaster-congestion, noise, traffic accidents but mostly danger to pedestrians. Also please don’t grant their “exceptions.” I would imagine they are not R1 friendly. Come up with a plan the everyone can support and Lehi can be proud of. Thanks.

I live in the small Fox Run neighborhood directly adjacent to this project. I look forward to having shops that are within walking distance and and hope this project will cater to the residential neighborhood with the types of vendors it leases to. I love the "walkable neighborhood commercial center theme" and believe it will be a great asset to my family and children. After reviewing the project plan and initial city feedback, it looks like the city planners have provided very good feedback on the initial plan. I agree the the drive-through lines could be problematic with such a small area and pedestrian traffic. Overall, this is a fantastic solution to Lehi's ongoing endless suburb sprawl that requires driving instead of walking or biking for shopping and services. I hope more projects like this are part of Lehi's residential master plans.

One thing I ask to be taken into high consideration, as mentioned by some other comments, the elementary school that serves this area creates a large safety concern of child foot traffic. Two suggestions to mitigate this increased danger:
a) only allow inbound traffic from 3200 N into the project to limit traffic and increase visibility for the young pedestrians. Bi-directional traffic should only be allowed on 1200 W.
b) The intersection should really be improved with either an above or below ground pedestrian walk way. It is already a massive disruption two times a day during the school year to get the hoards of children across this busy street with crossing guards. All the additional traffic the new businesses lining 1200 W safer crossing for this intersection should be provided.

I would love to see a strip mall with shops come here if there is space for us to walk around and sit outside! It would be nice to have a space like this where the community can walk to and visit with each other. There should probably be an overpass for walkers so the kids don't cross the road here.

Having all fast food drive through buildings is a bad idea. We need more outdoor get-together spots close enough to our homes to walk to. Local retailers and bakeries/coffee shops would be greatly appreciated!

I'm commenting as a resident of the neighborhood directly East of this development. While I recognize the right of the applicant to build a commercial project in the zoned area, I would appreciate the consideration of the Commission in the type of project that is approved for this area. As stated in the brief, there should be consideration given to the proximity of single-dwelling family homes to this project. A strip mall with multiple drive-thru's is about as wrong of a project as you can pick for this area. This would be a high-traffic project in an area that has significant pedestrian traffic, mostly kids walking to and from school. The approach is a two-lane road with no turn lane or even a median, so any car turning into the project will be slowing/stopping in an active traffic lane. Let's imagine there's a coffee/breakfast/soda shop that occupies one or multiple of the drive-thru locations. Two times a day, for 9 months of the year, you're going to have sidewalks full of kids, cars trying to turn in and out, waiting for the kids to cross in an active lane of traffic. One person looks down at their phone for a minute, not realizing the car in front of them is slowing to turn in, and we have an auto/pedestrian (kid) accident. As I said, it is just the wrong type of business for that space. Please ask the developer to re-consider the type of business they're putting in there. Let's keep neighborhoods as neighborhoods, and shopping areas as shopping areas. We don't want to be that crappy city with a random KFC in the middle of a bunch of family houses.

I cannot be at the meeting when this is discussed, so I am grateful for an opportunity to express my concern over the proposed development plan. As mentioned, part of this area is zoned neighborhood commercial. The reason for this is that it is surrounded by residential homes on all sides. On top of that, just a few lots down, an additional development of homes is being constructed... homes which will have a high percentage of young families residing in them. Already there are hundreds of children walking, riding bikes, and riding scooters to and from Fox Hollow Elementary, which is a short distance from the proposed commercial development. And with the new homes going in, even more children will be walking that route. To have a busy strip mall (with 188 parking spaces, they are obviously planning for high traffic), with multiple buildings and multiple drive-through establishments, cars will be coming from everywhere. As another commenter said, it's a recipe for disaster, for someone's child. In addition, there are screening concerns, with the 3-story storage building as well as other areas of the plan; there is concern with the light and sound impact to the residents of Bellaview Assisted Living center, which will be next to the development; and it just doesn't make a lot of sense, from an aesthetic and a community point of view, to plop such a large and chaotic commercial center right in the middle of residential neighborhoods and steps away from an elementary school. I recognize the desire for Lehi to be a "walkable" community, but this proposed frenetic corner will be anything but "walkable" for the residents around it. I also recognize that I cannot change what an area is zoned, nor can I stop development in general from happening. But I can express grave concern over the proposed plan. I plead with the planning commission to not change the existing "neighborhood commercial" zoning to all out "commercial", and to not accept the proposed plan.

There's big concern with the development here. This raid is already extremely busy to be adding this many more cars and stores
There's a school Fox Hollow that kids use this sidewalk to walk to and from school every day. Adding these stores and more traffic will increase the likelihood of an accident in a very busy school zone already.
In Addition 3200 is a street where no one drives the speed limit
If you add inlet and outlets with more cars, traffic, and kids crossing for school is just a combination for disaster:
Please reconsider the commercial density here. This is right by MANY R1 community developments with families who will suffer due to this added congestion