Nearly 25 Units per acre? High Density Concept Plan sent to City Council for feedback.

On May 21st the Eagle Mountain City Council agenda included the following discussion item: Gateway Park Phase 4 Concept Plan. The cover letter provided in the agenda read the following:

This is a conceptual plan for 442 multi-family housing units on 17.70 acres (24.97 DU/AC), within the Gateway Park development. The applicant is requesting feedback on their proposed development.

The Gateway Park Phase 4 concept plan is for 442 multi-family housing units on 17.70 acres, or a total density of 24.97 dwelling units per acre. Steve Mumford, Eagle Mountain Community Development Director, explains the definition of DU/AC. “DU/AC generally refers to gross density, or the number of residential units/lots per acre, including roads, open space, and other land. That is the density calculation that we use most often in Eagle Mountain.” This high density of 24.97 DU/AC is not allowed with the current Residential zoning. Eagle Mountain currently has one Residential zone with several allowed tiers in that zone. The allowed density for each zone is as follows:

• Tier I Residential 1.6 Units per acre
• Tier II Residential 5.9 Units per acre (cannot exceed 5.2 DU/AC)
• Tier III Residential 12.2 Units per acre
• Tier IV Residential 24.2 Units per acre (cannot exceed 22.7 DU/AC)

You can only reach those densities if you add things to your development. Some of those improvements include covering 75% of the building in masonry products, building storage units for the residents, clubhouse, swimming Pool, street trees, enlarged park strips, fencing, street signposts, and adding covered parking to name a few. Even with the added density for the amenities, the code does only allow for 22.7 DU/AC. This can still be approved by City Council and an exception can be made. The City is currently in the process of addressing code changes needed for their recent update to the General Plan. The general plan moves away from the bonus density, and will be setup to create multiple residential zoning classifications and each will have their own limitations. Those limitations could include lot size, limits on DU/AC, set-backs, as well as other things. It will be interesting to see if the new zoning code will include a residential zone or a multi-use zone that allows for this higher density development. Eagle Mountain is not new to high density developments. As the city grows it is seeing a bigger shift towards higher density housing as the rural feel of Eagle Mountain gives way to Urban Sprawl. Eagle Mountain has some higher density developments. For example, the Porter’s Crossing development has a max density of 20.5 per acre. The Ranches has several subdivisions that have higher dwellings per acre. According to their Master Development Agreement there are a few high density areas.

• Willow Springs – 12 DU/AC
• Rock Creek – 14 DU/AC
• Plum Creek – 9.6 DU/AC
• Cold Springs – 12.4 DU/AC
• Mt Airey Village – 9.7 DU/AC
• Heatherwood On The Green – 10 DU/AC

The discussed concept plan states that a lack of affordable housing as one of the reasons for the high density proposal. “Overall, homes are generally very affordable – one-third of units are affordable to moderate – and low-income households. However, the lack of apartments may present challenges to some households in having a reasonable opportunity to locate to Eagle Mountain.” It also states that Eagle Mountain needs more Work Force Housing, and housing for Millennials that have “not their parents’ home” preferences. Workforce housing is designed for public servants, police, fire fighters, teachers, veterans, recent college grads, seniors and single income families. The presentation and related materials can be found in this PDF supplied by the city: City Council Meeting for May 21st 2019 Concept Plans During the same meeting, the City Council approved with a 4-1 vote (Colby Curtis was the Nay vote) the Eagle Heights Village Master Development Plan. That development will put 284 duplex units on approximately 51.38 acres with a project density of 5.53 DU/AC. Eagle Heights Village will be located south of Eagle Mountain Boulevard, and east of Lake Mountain Road along the east benches in what is called Eagle Mountain’s City center. It should be noted that the 24.97 DU/AC development “Gateway Park Phase 4” was only a discussion item and no action to approve or disprove it was done by the City Council. The item will still need to be presented by City Staff to the Planning Commission for their consideration and then move to the City Council again for either approval or denial. A recent poll done on the Eagle Mountain Citizens FB page, shows that the residents of Eagle Mountain prefer to shy away from high density housing developments and prefer low density housing. The page currently has over 9000 followers. Of the 328 residents, on the page, that responded to the poll 96% of them either wanted to see a ban on High Density developments or a reduction in High Density development. 6% wanted to keep the current mix of low and high density. And only 1 of the respondents wanted more high density. Eagle Mountain was the second fastest growing city in Utah County according to the 2018 US census. Eagle mountain had a growth rate of 10.94% from 2017-2018. That puts it at the 46th fastest growing city with a population above 1,000 in the US, and the 2nd fastest growing in Utah. It was only surpassed by Vineyard which had an explosive growth rate of 62.79%, but followed closely by American Fork with a 10.32% growth rate. Eagle Mountains 2018 population estimate is 35,616.