Plans for Tooele County’s first community to be developed under a newly adopted planned community ordinance are on their way to further review with a positive recommendation from the Tooele County Planning Commission.
The planning commission voted to recommend that the Tooele County Commission approve 1,444 acres between Stansbury Park and Lake Point to be rezoned for a planned community during its meeting Wednesday night at the county building.
The property is owned by Kennecott Utah Copper and is named Adobe Rock Ranch.
When completed, which may take 20 years, Adobe Rock Ranch will add 4,710 residential units to northeastern Tooele County along with a variety of commercial, retail, and open space.
After the meeting, Lake Point resident Colleen Garrard approached Kennecott representatives and said, “You’re development is going to have a big impact on our community … like a train wreck.”
A public hearing was held during the planning commission’s Oct. 8 meeting on Adobe Rock Ranch. Many Lake Point and Stansbury Park residents vehemently opposed the development during that hearing.
Wednesday night’s positive recommendation came after planning commission members questioned representatives of Kennecott for two and one-half hours on traffic, open space, water and sewer.
The positive recommendation came with three conditions: the community structure phase of the approval process is to include a detailed traffic study, a provision is to be adopted requiring the applicant to fund the proposed extension and connection of Beeman Way to Interstate 80, and sidewalks and park strips are to be excluded from the required 25 percent open space.
In response to questions from the planning commission, Jeff Stephenson, representing Kennecott, told the planning commission that Kennecott currently owns enough water rights to supply water to the development. Kennecott plans to work with existing community agencies to supply both water and sewer to Adobe Rock Ranch, he said.
Traffic wise, Kennecott is working with the Utah Department of Transportation on the state Route 201 extension into Tooele County and has agreed to sell or trade property needed for the project, according to Stephenson.
The Midvalley Highway is on the west end of the Adobe Rock Ranch property. It has been funded with construction scheduled to begin in 2019.
The plan for Adobe Rock Ranch includes a proposed extension of Beeman Way to I-80 with what is called a slip lane at I-80, or an eastbound on ramp only, according to Stephenson.
Kennecott has mentioned the slip lane in discussions with UDOT but no approval has been given for the connection, he said.
Kennecott wants to work with the Stansbury Service Agency on the maintenance of open space, according to Stephenson. He described most of the initial infrastructure of open space as parks and walking, running, and bike trails.
Planning commission member John Wright made a motion to recommend denial of the rezone of the property to planned community.
The reasons listed for recommending denial included water issues, traffic congestion, and at 1,400 acres the property is too large of an amount of property to turn over to one entity to develop and side-step ordinary zoning.
The motion failed 2-5. Planning commission members John Wright and Larry Brown voted for the motion. Planning commission members Scott Jacobs, Cameron Spencer, Lynn Butterfield, Curt Jensen, and Brad Bartholomew voted against the motion.
Cameron Spencer then made a motion to recommend that the County Commission approve the planned community rezone, with the three conditions.
The motion passed 5-2. Jacobs, Spencer, Butterfield, Jensen, and Bartholomew voted for the motion. Wright and Brown opposed the motion.
The County Commission will vote on the planned community rezone in a future meeting. If the County Commission approves the zone change to planned community, the next step would be the approval of the community structure plan.
The community structure plan would include plans for major roadways, infrastructure, open space networks, and the general location of planned community elements of neighborhoods, villages, town centers, open space and business centers. The planned community ordinance spells out what is allowed in each of these elements, including maximum residential density.
The community structure plan would be reviewed by county planning staff and approved by both the planning commission and County Commission.
Subsequent project plans and subdivision plats would be approved by the planning commission, similar to other developments.
The planning staff would approve individual site plans based on the development requirements approved by the planning commission and County Commission, according to the planned community ordinance.