HERRIMAN, Utah - A large piece of property near Herriman could be the site of a massive high-density housing development, after the Salt Lake County Council voted to re-zone the more than 900 acres of land for homes, apartments, businesses and more.
Before the vote, leaders from every nearby city begged the council to hold off, citing a long list of concerns.
‘Olympia,’ a master-planned community, would sit on the chunk of land just west of Herriman, in between 12400 South and 13400 South, and 6300 West and 8500 West.
According to planning documents, 932 acres would transform from fields to neighborhoods, business complexes and community spaces.
The plan calls for up to 8,765 residential units, divvied out between single-family homes, townhomes, apartments and mixed-use buildings.
Developers would leave room for parks, trails and open spaces, as well as churches, schools, libraries and civic buildings.
The zoning would also allow retail spaces, restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities and more. The plan calls for the land to either incorporate as its own city or be annexed into a neighboring municipality.
Mayors from Copperton, Herriman, Riverton and West Jordan released a joint statement opposing the proposal. They also gave comments to the council, expressing concerns over the density of the housing, utility and roadway infrastructure and open space.
In the statement, they said, “It is estimated that this would add an additional 30,000+ residents to the southwest part of the valley; essentially adding another city approaching the size of Herriman or Riverton, but in a tenth of the land area.”
They said 12600 S, the main thoroughfare in that part of the valley, already reaches “critical levels of traffic during peak commute hours.”
“We publicly oppose this plan as it currently stands,” Herriman City council member Sherrie Ohrn said, during public comment Tuesday.
Herriman City planning director Michael Maloy asked the council to delay action on the re-zoning decision and to consider the impacts on neighboring communities.
“The impacts on traffic, infrastructure demands to include parks, fire, police, trails, storm drain, road maintenance,” he listed off.
After leaders from the surrounding cities and a handful of residents urged the council to give more thought, council members explained why they largely favored the plan.
Salt Lake County Council member Michael Jensen said addressed some of the concerns, explaining that 126th is already slated for improvements and widening of the road.
He said one thing that attracts him to this plan, is that it’s master-planned as a whole development.
“Kind of a Daybreak model where you would have mixed use, you would have your retail, you would have your commercial,” he said.
Council member Jenny Wilson said the county needs density, and they need to do it right. She said they would make sure to continue to modify the plans as needed.
“I feel excited and good about it,” she said, of the plan.
Steve DeBry was the lone council member who favored holding off on a vote, saying he wanted to slow down and come to an agreement with the cities impacted by the development.
Ultimately, the council voted to move forward. Herriman City Mayor David Watts said even though this isn’t the plan his community wanted, the plan can still change.
“We still fully intend to work with the landowner and with the developer,” he said, “to find a product that works for everyone.”
