“The Environmentally Sensitive Area classification is intended to protect sensitive lands that are either prone to natural hazards such as flooding and slope failure, or are otherwise unsuitable for development due ecological constraints. The ESA designation includes areas within the 100-year flood plains of the Jordan River and Dry Creek, areas below the high water elevation of Utah Lake, and areas with slopes exceeding 30%. ***Because of the characteristics of these Environmentally Sensitive Areas, development is highly discouraged, and generally not appropriate.*** If limited development is allowed, it should be approached with care to ensure there is no long-term loss of property or human life.
***Special consideration should be given to development along the Dry Creek corridor,*** due to flood hazards as well as the steep slopes along the creek ravine from Center Street to the Lehi/Highland boarder. New vehicular crossings of the creek should be limited. New cuts and fills for roads and building pads along the slopes of the ravine are highly discouraged. PRDs and PUDs will be encouraged to allow clustering of units on the least sensitive areas. The applicable Zoning District classification for areas identified as Environmentally Sensitive Area is A-5.”

Lehi City General Plan Page 15
Land Use Element Adopted 9/25/01 Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) emphasis added.

Removed by moderator.

We moved here in July of 2020 & bought a View Lot of Mtns & Lake & we were told by Perry Homes the land behind us was ZONED OPEN SPACE & would be a park of some kind? We did not pay thousands of $$$$$ premium fo a lot & pay nearly $600,000 for the house to look a the back of a Commercial bldg?
Dan Fix

Removed by moderator.

Many people are upset about the proposed changes to the Micron Area Plan, and in my opinion what it comes down to is that DR Horton is not making any obvious consideration of the existing neighborhoods. What existing neighbors are seeing is a huge, extremely dense development being shoved right up against the boundaries of their neighborhoods without considering the already crowded schools, the lack of accessible parks, and the traffic issues that already exist. As a neighbor living nearby I see immediate negative impacts to the welfare of my family and neighbors, with no sign of DR Horton making any contribution to improving the welfare of those who will be impacted.

What contributions to the welfare of neighbors could be made in the plan?
1 - DR Horton's development could contribute to the welfare of neighbors by creating a multi-acre public park with soccer fields, tennis, pickleball, basketball, and volleyball courts, playground and splashpad areas for children to play, and picnic tables and pavilions for gatherings. The entire area of northeast Lehi is extremely under-served by parks and especially ones with sports fields, and this development has level ground where they could add a large public park instead of simply another huge swath of homes that have to drive clear across Lehi to access sports parks. I realize the development includes several pocket parks and an HOA park with clubhouse and amenities, but these are intended for the use of the 2400+ families they will be adding to the area and do not contribute to improving the welfare of the existing neighborhood. Improving the welfare of existing neighbors AND the 2400+ families being added to the area would require the creation of a multi-acre public park.

2 - DR Horton could contribute to the welfare of the neighbors being impacted is by providing a reasonable location for a new elementary school, or working with ASD in other financial ways. The proposed plan carves out property right next to existing schools, which is not realistic and a traffic nightmare. ASD might accept that donated property but there is no money to build there for many, many YEARS and realistically they are not going to build another elementary school right next to Belmont, because it would require busing kids in to fill it. I don't know how crowded the schools are on the east side of the property but perhaps reserving a school location in that area would make more sense? If it doesn't, possibly DR Horton can contribute to ASD in other ways to reduce the impact they will be making to existing schools.

3 - DR Horton could contribute to the welfare of impacted neighbors by providing trail space buffers between the development and existing properties, maintaining and improving the access the existing homes have had to the hillsides and open space. This would also keep open some corridors for wildlife to move through the property.

I highly suggest DR Horton improve the perception of their development by showing that they will change the area plan in a way that contributes to the welfare of the existing neighborhoods instead of only making negative impacts to those already living nearby.

Thanks for your consideration,
Erin Ethington

We moved to Canyon Hills 5 years ago and live in one of the 26 homes that run along the western border the DR Horton property. We, like many others, were led to believe that that the beautiful oak covered hillside next to us would be preserved as open space regardless of the inevitable development of the Micron parcel. The trails that run through this sliver of land bordering our backyards are well traveled and loved by the residents of Canyon Hills and surrounding communities. Micron has been a generous neighbor in this regard as we always understood that they own it, and we were guests on their property.
My family and I always knew that we would eventually have neighbors in our backyard. We accepted that with the understanding that our beloved trail system through the natural oak would be preserved and shared by the two communities (and the rest of Lehi residents).
The threat of this changing after so many years being told otherwise feels wrong. I ask the council members to require an amendment to the proposed plan to honor the original master plan that Lehi and Micron were so proud to share with us over the years.
Myself, and the voting public of Lehi will be watching to see if the council members can be trusted to protect the safety, well-being and appeal of Northeast Lehi and its residents. For the record, I believe you will.
-Brett Stevenson

We live in the Dry Creek Highlands neighborhood adjacent to the proposed development. We do not automatically oppose "high density" housing--with the affordability crisis in Utah housing it seems unsustainable to insist on half-acre lots--and we favor an increase in "active adult" developments in the area, which we see form a substantial part of the proposal. That said, we have serious concerns about this development that reflect those of many others. Number one would be the protection of environmentally sensitive areas and provision for the migration patterns of wildlife in the area. Two years ago, we had most of the elk herd that others have mentioned coming on to our back yard and the land just behind us. It was an impressive sight, but also extremely damaging to our landscaping and the surrounding land. Where will these poor animals go if their routes of migration are developed? How much damage will they do to others' property? How many of them will needlessly die? This is only one of many possible concerns in developing an environmentally sensitive area. Once these precious resources are lost, they are gone forever. We can't keep encroaching on and destroying our environment indefinitely. It is the thing that draws us to live where we do, and unconstrained development will destroy it. Second, we share the concerns about greatly increased traffic on a road (Highland Blvd) that is not designed for the potential volumes, not to mention the implications for local schools. Third, we feel strongly that new development MUST allow for adequate green space, parks, and open land. The proposed plan does not do this adequately. Please send DR Horton back to the drawing board to come up with a plan that better reflects these considerations.

Thank you for the notice and forum to provide feedback. We share many of the concerns expressed here. Our decision to live in this part of Lehi was significantly influenced by the existing plan which calls for a park on the western border of the Micron property. As parents of three young soccer players, we spend significant time traveling to practices and games which are all at least a 15 minute drive away. We are looking forward to controlled growth and development that includes more play areas for our children.

We assumed as many others have that the Lehi City's published zoning map showing areas of ESA was an accurate description, not a result of a technical shortcoming. Families make long term decisions based on this information and do not have the luxury of time and money to understand nuances and how that might affect their property and quality of life. While change is inevitable, and we all want to see Lehi grow, it must be done with respect to the vision and characteristics of Lehi that have attracted so many families. We rely on our city government to steer the necessary growth. This amendment is a move in the wrong direction.

Joshua & Kelli Rippon

I welcome development on the hill and know that Lehi needs more affordable housing. However, I am very concerned that the increased high density of this proposed plan will be a mess for current and future residents. DR Horton’s plan almost triples the residential units from what the city’s original plan was, removes the large park that was supposed to be in the northwest corner of the Micron land and changes another park/open space to MU. This creates two main issues:

1.) Lehi City already allowed the removal of a large park in the Perry neighborhood. Now it’s proposed to remove the large park from the DR Horton community as well. We need more basketball/tennis courts, more soccer fields and open space. Lack of programable park space is already a HUGE problem for northeast Lehi. The residents of Canyon Hills are already bearing the burden (and cost) for the city of Lehi because our private park is utilized by kids and families from many miles away. I don’t have an issue sharing, but please don’t let DR Horton add 2400 units on top of an existing problem without creating a solution. They MUST keep the large park that was originally planned for their development. A mass influx of traffic at the Canyon Hills park would also create a safety problem for our children with increased traffic coming up/down Canyon Hills Road and more cars parked along the residential street in front of our park. That becomes a visibility hazard for kids walking to/from the park to their homes.

2.) The new elementary school and future middle school are already at or near capacity. How will nearly tripling the density plan for the area affect those schools? Additionally, changing the triangle space across from the elementary school to mixed use will increase traffic for kids walking to/from school. That is another safety hazard. If you’ve ever driven down Canyon Hills Road when school gets out, you would see that more cars would significantly impact the safety of all kids in the area.

DR Horton’s current plan benefits DR Horton, not Lehi. Please require them reduce density to a more reasonable and sustainable amount and keep the large park that was planned for the northwest area. You have a stewardship to ensure that growth in Lehi happens responsibly and supports the overall well-being of our residents. Thank you for listening to our concerns.

I think the density proposal from DR Horton needs to be reevaluated. I currently live in the Canyon Hills neighborhood and our HOA dues have increased to service our facilities due to overuse and vandalism. Without adequate open space and facilities in the new DR Horton plan our HOA bears increased financial burden to maintain overused parks not to mention security issues with our facilities.

It’s important to address the longstanding density development agreement with Highland City that allows for 2 residential units per acre.

What about pollution regulations? Micron owns 250 tons of pollution release-rights annually of which it is reported they use 107 tons annually. I understand Micron is selling or will sell the plant and pass along those banked pollution rights. Will the city address the pollution allowed to be pumped into the homes of the current neighborhoods as well as the adjacent DR Horton proposal?

This seems primed for a repeat of the ousting of Stericycle from North Salt Lake after years of environmental activism brought to light the environmental and health impacts of allowing residential development too close to industrial production.

Finally, schools in the area are already at capacity. Average class sizes in the district are above 30 students and some classes at Skyridge are >50. As I understand it 9 new schools have been built in the last 2 years, but most of those are in the Saratoga Springs area. Our district testing scores are barely above state average and Utah was ranked No. 51 in per-pupil spending in 2020. The business model of “build it first and then catch up with educational facilities” is hurting our kids. It takes at least 2 years of overflowing classrooms to get relief with new schools.

There are some very serious negative health, environmental, economic and educational impacts from allowing DR Horton to move forward with their current proposal. Please allow the community insight and logic to override the appeal of short turn gains.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback. Hopefully our feedback is considered and the opportunity to provide feedback has a purpose. I feel the same way as everyone else. As new neighborhoods are developed they need planned parks and green space. The green space/park was already zoned. Keep the zoning the way it was with the 10% green space where it was planned to be and put the development on the other side of the previously zoned green space. The open space at the top of the map is unusable space. That cannot qualify as open space. If it is determined to be usable space then build the active adult community in the open space identified on the map.

The area is already overwhelmed with high density homes. There is no need to build more townhomes. Most if not all of the high density homes will be purchased by investors. It seems Lehi is providing more than their share of high density homes. Lehi should push for Alpine, Highland, Lindon... to provide more high density housing. It shouldn't be up to Lehi to provide all the high density housing.

Everyone living in this new neighborhood will overwhelm the already busy canyon hills park. The same thing happened with the Perry Homes neighborhood and Perry Homes got away with it. We cannot allow this to happen again. This plan obviously is designed to maximize profits and is not considering those living in the area and those that will soon live in the area. We cannot allow builders to just build whatever gives them the most profit. We need to consider making the space being developed pleasant to live in. The proposed plan will be detrimental to the area.

My comments are similar to everyone else’s comments. There needs to be more parks, more usable open green space. Re-zoning shouldn’t happen. They are being greedy and it is coming at the cost of residents. The wildlife needs to be preserved. The open space needs to be preserved. We need more parks in the area. Traffic has increased substantially and schools are crowded. High density housing is not needed in this area. Please keep the zoning as is and make DR Horton accountable to make the community better.

We live on Spring Brook Lane, almost directly across from Belmont Elementary. Many days I walk our granddaughter to and from school. Every day, I watch traffic spill on to Canyon Hills Rd as people take kids to and from school. Now, DR Horton is proposing a mixed use community in the parcel between our home and the school. That parcel is supposed to be open space. With the new Jr high coming online, adding a high density development into the area is dangerous and detrimental to the neighborhood. Further, many of us purchased our homes with the understanding that the open space would be preserved. Maximizing builder revenue by allowing DR Horton to jam high density housing into this lot hurts us, plain and simple. It damages us financially, risks our kids, wrecks our neighborhood, blights a beautiful area, and creates a congested mess. The commission needs to stick to the original plan and leave that plot as open space at a minimum, or if not, an improvement that actually improves. Make a decision that makes your citizen’s lives better, not worse. Isn’t that the job?

We welcome the development of new homes on the mountain, but must oppose this amendment for the following reasons:

This area of Lehi is lacking in large, programmable park spaces. A planned 5 acre park in The Crossings (Perry) has previously been moved and reduced significantly in size. The original Micron Area Plan includes a large park which DR Horton proposes to eliminate entirely. This would require residents to drive out of the Traverse Mountain area, or, to trespass on private HOA facilities (which is already a significant problem in our community).

The city requires 10% acreage of Open Space in Planned Communities. We do not believe this proposal meets these requirements - they appear to include retention/drainage areas that should not be counted. They also include steep areas of land that are not usable for most residents. Parks and usable open spaces are important for the health and wellbeing of current and future residents.

This amendment changes the density of the proposed development significantly, from 780 to 2,412 residential units - an increase of 3 times as many houses. The recently completed Elementary and soon to be completed Middle School are already near or at capacity. This plan does not appear to sufficiently address the need for increased school capacity. We also have concerns about the impact this will have on traffic, especially as it appears only SR92 and Highland Blvd will connect the west and east sides of this development.

We are very happy to see a proposed trail system, but cyclists and pedestrians using this system need a safe way to cross SR92 and join up with the trails there. There is also a proposed mountain bike / hiking trail system to the north which DR Horton may not be aware of. This was originally planned with a large trailhead, without which, we are concerned there will be a parking issue for trail users that will spill out into the community (similar to at Corner Canyon in Draper).

There are a number of areas marked as ESA on the original Micron plan. These are largely eliminated. It is well documented that these areas are currently used by deer and even elk. There appear to be no provisions being made for the safe migration of these animals south and across SR92. Given the number of deer strikes we see on SR92 it would also make things safer for road users.

Given the overall amount of change, it is hard to see this as an amendment, and not an entirely new plan. At a minimum, we would like to delay proceedings to allow time for further impact studies and community engagement regarding this plan.

- Gary & Alida Oldham

As a current resident living in Perry Homes/Crossings and a former resident of Canyon Hills, I really like many aspects of the proposed Micron Plan. Please consider the following as you weigh approval: 1) More green space/parks - the only park in the area is private/HOA; 2) Less housing density - Schools will have a difficult time keeping up with such a dense development. Thank you for your consideration.

I am a working professional and have lived in Traverse Mountain for over 6 years. This area very much needs the additional apartments and townhouses. Please allow the proposal to move forward.

There are two blue designations for Schools but there is no playground/park with the Schools. The developer should pay for the creation of a big public park there with baseball, soccer, basketball, tennis, pickelball, swing sets etc.

Is there a provision for the developer to pay for the construction costs of the schools? There should be.

I live to the west of this proposed development. The private park in our neighborhood already is overwhelmed with trespassing individuals from neighboring areas with no developed parks utilizing these common spaces because they have none of their own. This planned development proposes an incredibly high number of units with no developed park space to accommodate them. The result will certainly be to perpetuate the problem already caused by the city in allowing for large numbers of developments without corresponding park space, which will result in a overwhelming number of additional unauthorized uses of the Canyon Hills private parks. This will lead to conflict and a drain law enforcement services. It also makes the northern portion of Lehi city west Sarabel and it’s woeful lack of park space.

Proper planning would absolutely require call for a portion of the space to be used for developed parks, in addition to greenspace. The section of the property that is furthest west was planned by the city for use as green space or parks, really as ESA, and that space would be most appropriately utilized either for natural green space or at worst, parks.

Please do not succumb to create and accompanying poor planning. Once you allow this development without corresponding parks, north Lehi will forever be less desirable it’s a large number of citizens to the west will forever be resentful of the City and Horton. It is more than reasonable to push Horton to increase park space for ~2500 units. Horton should realize that should it simply create even a small buffer on its western edge for this purpose, it will resolve a host of legitimate complaints.

The current proposal from D.R. Horton is not in the best interest of Lehi Residents. As a former resident of Lehi for 9 years and a property owner for 12 years, we ended up moving in part because of the congestion that developed over the time we lived there. We loved our time in Lehi but the high levels of growth without appropriate infrastructure planning made it difficult to even get out of our neighborhood.

D.R. Horton's proposal is a propagation of that same mentality - grow at any cost - and will result in communities that are too busy and will quickly convert to a rental market with lower interest paid in the beauty and upkeep of the area and higher petty crime. It is evident that D.R. Horton is trying to squeeze as many units into their development as possible, under the guise of an enormous Active Adult community (the highest density rating aside from townhomes) as well as townhomes and isn't paying any attention to the quality of living of the area. This is exemplified by the fact that green space and parks have been drastically reduced and are basically afterthoughts on the east portion of the development in drainage areas or the middle of the street round-about.

Having experienced what happens in Lehi if the quality of living isn't kept in mind while determining how to grow the community, the Micron Development will turn into a transient location 5 - 10 years after development and long term residents will not stick around. I recommend that the current D.R. Horton proposal be rejected or amended to include much more greenspace/parks and to better reflect surrounding neighborhoods - not to just fit in as many units as possible because it will lead to way too much traffic, congestion and unfortunately petty crime.
Steven Tew

I live on Spring Brook Lane in the Crossing at Traverse subdivision. My backyard is adjacent to the triangle shaped parcel that is southwest of Belmont Elementary and west of the Junior High School. That parcel is currently shown on the Lehi City General Plan Land Use Map as Public/ Open Space. The proposed plan would change the use of that parcel to Mixed Use. I am very concerned with some aspects of the concept plan for the DR Horton Planned Community.
I understand that one of the goals of their plan is to introduce more residential use to the area and reduce commercial use compared to what is currently shown on the City’s approved General Plan Land Use Map. I can appreciate that there is likely more demand for residential use in this area at this time, and I can support more residential use. However, these changes to the General Plan Land Use Map need to be done in a way that has a lower impact to current residences and communities that surround the proposed DR Horton Planned Community.
The current General Plan Land Use Map shows Public/ Open Space/ Environmentally Sensitive Areas in the northwest area of the Micron property. Those areas that are currently shown as public or open space are directly adjacent to 26 single family homes in the Crossing at Traverse and Canyon Hills neighborhoods. It is my understanding that the General Plan for that area has been in place since 2012. All 26 of those homes were built and purchased by current residents of Lehi City that were planning on those open spaces for their family’s quality of life, property values, and the feel and appearance of our neighborhoods. I know our family spent considerable time researching Zoning and Land Use maps before we purchased our home, and likely would have purchased somewhere else had that triangle shaped parcel directly east of our home been shown as Mixed Use on the Land Use Map at that time. A big part of our decision to purchase was based on the currently approved General Plan that shows open/ public space in that area.
The introduction to Lehi City’s Development Code on the City web site states “The Development Code contains standards, provisions, and requirements intended to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Lehi City by ensuring that neighbors and adjacent properties are protected from potential negative impacts in the development and use of land. It is the intent of the Development Code to provide a means of PREDICTABILITY AND CONSISTENCY in the use of land and individual properties, and to guide and direct the development of land and to achieve a balance between the desires of the individual property-owner and the citizens of the City of Lehi.” The Development Code for the Planned Community Zone states “The intent of the Planned Community Zone and this Chapter is to provide for the implementation of the Lehi City General Plan.” The Planning Commission needs to consider the citizens of Lehi City that own those 26 homes that adjoin this property, and how we are relying on the current General Plan. The “predictability and consistency” of the land use needs to be maintained in regards to the open space/public/environmentally sensitive areas currently planned on the approved General Plan Land Use Map. The removal of those areas as shown on the proposed Planned Community map would most certainly have a “negative impact” on the citizens of Lehi City that own those 26 homes, as well as many other citizens in those communities. The stated purpose of the Planned Community Zone is to implement the General Plan. I think it is entirely possible for the Developer to achieve their goal of more residential uses in the Planned Community without removing the open spaces that the General Plan currently shows.
The areas currently shown as public/ open space on relatively mild grade. These are areas that would be flat enough for traditional parks with amenities like lawn, playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc for the young families in the adjoining neighborhoods and near the schools. These traditional park areas and amenities are desperately needed in this area of Lehi City. The proposed Planned Community concept plan shows an area of open space at the far north end of the property in an area with much steeper grades. An area that would be suitable for hiking and biking trails, but an area likely not appropriate for the more traditional parks and amenities. There are already several hiking and biking trails in the Traverse Mountain area. The more traditional parks that would be possible on the flatter ground currently planned in the General Plan would be of much more value to the young families in the area.
The triangle shaped parcel directly west of the Junior High and southwest of Belmont Elementary is proposed as Mixed Use. This area already sees high traffic, and lots of pedestrian traffic in the mornings and afternoons. Once the Junior High is completed, this traffic will include hundreds of our children. There are many “Permitted” uses in the Mixed Use zone that would not be appropriate in this school zone setting, and also not appropriate directly adjacent to existing single family homes. In the Developers meeting with Lehi City’s Design Review Committee, the committee recognized a possible conflict with the schools and the existing neighborhood. They recommended “limitations to keep it small scale and compatible with the neighborhood.” There is a reason this parcel was approved as Public space in the current General Plan. It is a much better use of the land for this parcel that is so close to our schools to keep it as a park or open space.
Planning Commission and City Staff, please consider the effects of eliminating the already approved and planned public and open spaces in the northwest area of the proposed Planned Community. The Land Use for that area had already been planned before the developer purchased the property. It is entirely possible for the Developer to create a Planned Community that will increase the residential use of the land in the way they desire without changing or eliminating the public and open spaces that are currently in City General Plan. Removing those public/ open spaces would have a significant negative impact on the citizens of Lehi City that live in the homes adjoining those areas.