City Council

FARMINGTON CITY – CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 1, 2025 WORK SESSION Present: Mayor Brett Anderson, Recording Secretary Deanne Chaston, City Manager Brigham Mellor, Community Development Director Dave Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex Petersen, Leeman, Assistant Community Development Councilmember Roger Child, Director/City Planner Lyle Gibson, Councilmember Scott Isaacson, City Planner/GIS Specialist Shannon Councilmember Melissa Layton, Hansell, and Councilmember Amy Shumway, Assistant City Manager/City Engineer Chad City Attorney Paul Roberts, Boshell. City Recorder DeAnn Carlile, Mayor Brett Anderson called the work session to order at 6:04 p.m. LAGOON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING DISCUSSION Josh Jensen with Silverpeak Engineering addressed the Council. They are proposing a new office building on 8 acres to revamp how Lagoon employees come and go to check in. Their full- time executives will also have their offices there. The zoning is B, and a few of Lagoon’s residences are in the Original Townsite Residential (OTR) zone. He said Farmington Staff advised Recreation Transition as an appropriate transitional zone there for a buffer. Lagoon owns all the property affected by the proposal, and east of the creek are residential owners. They would like to realign two existing residential lots with historical homes; one home is on the National Register and the other one is not. They are currently nonconforming, but the realignment of lot lines would make them conforming. City Manager Brigham Mellor said they would vacate the trail easement in exchange for something else. Vacation of the 200 West Right of Way will result in less headache for the City. Lagoon would like to divert more traffic to the north entrance. Assistant City Manager/City Engineer Chad Boshell said the road may need to be adjusted to ensure proper line of site on the curve. Jensen said Lagoon would like an exception for building height and setback. If they vacate the road and turn it into a private drive instead, the setback would be 10 feet. Assistant Community Development Director/City Planner Lyle Gibson said this setback would allow them to get further away from the neighbors. City Councilmember Scott Isaacson said an office building is preferable to another big ride close to the neighbors. It will be good to have a transition. City Councilmember Amy Shumway said the Lagoon section of Farmington Creek Trail is a gem for the City, as it is fully engulfed in trees and vegetation. She hopes the vegetation can be retained and that there will be a good landscaping plan. Farmington City Council, July 1, 2025 Page 1 Mellor said this will come back for the Council’s decision later. He welcomed ongoing feedback and questions from the Council. This office building will fit in well with Lagoon’s proprietary 5- 10 year plan. CW HERITAGE PROJECT DISCUSSSION Gibson said the for-sale townhome project on this Spencer Plummer Buffalo Ranch property is still in schematic. There are still engineering challenges regarding storm water and flood plain. The south end of this 51-acre project is a narrow wedge against the West Davis Corridor (WDC), with the primary access on Clark Lane. While there have been verbal agreements for access from Buffalo Ranch Road, there has been nothing formal. Mellor said the biggest concern Staff has is detention. There will be a policing hazard if Plummer continues owning the existing barns. Those barns may have some value depending on the uses allowed. At the end of the day, four units per acre are allowed there. Due to the shape of the property, there has to be a place allowing denser development. Removing the commercial use of the barns would need to be replaced with a comparable trade off. Councilmember Scott Isaacson said he would like to see more housing similar to that in Valencia, California, near Los Angeles. There they have three- to four-bedroom homes on tiny lots without sharing a wall. This is the type of project that the Wasatch Front could use. Councilmember Alex Leeman mentioned that a cement sound wall the whole length of the project would be a positive selling point. Applicant Chase Freebairn, representing Cole West, said the sound wall would be 12 feet tall. While CW doesn’t represent landowner Spencer Plummer, whom they are under contract with, they know he prefers to keep the barns and parking area. Freebairn said the value of the barns can be debated, and Plummer likely won’t sell off that land until he feels whole. He said this project includes power lines, a detention basin, and a pinch point crescent shape left over after the highway carved it up. Twenty years ago, no one thought the State would condemn land and they would end up with a highway in their backyard. Now, they are left with the pieces. The project is 51.24 acres. With 4.76 units per acre, that would result in 244 residential units including 129 single-family lots and 115 townhome units. The single-family homes would include three-car garages and main-level living. It is natural to put townhomes up against the highway and power lines. The project includes a trail plan. They plan to preserve agricultural uses of horses or cattle in the power line area. Mayor Anderson said Farmington is getting a lot of pressure from the State to have truly affordable housing priced at $300,000 or less. Freebairn said “affordable housing” means different things depending on many variables, starting with the land basis. Land in Farmington is more expensive than in other areas such as Roy, where the company has another project. A finished lot next to the train tracks in Roy is $85,000, which equates to a townhome worth $360,000 to $380,000. Constructing homes without a garage is a new thing that the State is using as a poster child for affordable housing. Leeman asked if CW could change their concept so the five to six single-family homes are flipped with the 20 townhomes. This would result in less dense uses near the existing residential, Farmington City Council, July 1, 2025 Page 2 and may help provide space for another access. Isaacson agreed, saying it may help the existing residents to have future access at the back of their lots. Mellor said the proposed townhome style is similar to the CW ROAM project in Mountain Green. It may be good to tour some of CW’s other projects to get a good feel. He said Plummer’s complaints will not go away without a market assessment. Mellor said this needs more study before it goes to the Planning Commission. That may mean work sessions or a subcommittee. Leeman said a neighborhood meeting would be appropriate before it goes to the Commission. Isaacson said they could go to the neighbors to explain that it is a trade-off to eliminate commercial uses for high density townhomes instead. Mayor Anderson said it would be helpful to show the neighbors the concepts and options. One would be including the operating barns, and the other would be without the barns and more townhomes. Shumway asked about a trail connection on the south end. Freebairn said they could find a way to physically connect the trails. Mellor mentioned that in an emergency, fire and ambulance can use the trails for access. Farmington City Council, July 1, 2025 Page 3 REGULAR SESSION Present: Mayor Brett Anderson, Councilmember Melissa Layton, City Manager Brigham Mellor, Councilmember Amy Shumway, Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex City Attorney Paul Roberts, Leeman, City Recorder DeAnn Carlile, and Councilmember Roger Child, Recording Secretary Deanne Chaston. Councilmember Scott Isaacson, CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Brett Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. SUMMARY ACTION: Minute Motion Approving Summary Action List The Council considered the Summary Action List including: • Item 1: Approval of minutes for June 17, 2025. • Item 2: Approval of Big T Recreation quote for North Cottonwood Commons Park. Staff recommends approval of the quote in the amount of $131,547 for the purchase of site furnishings. Motion: Councilmember Roger Child moved to approve the Summary Action list Items 1-2 as noted in the Staff Report. Councilmember Amy Shumway seconded the motion. All Council members voted in favor, as there was no opposing vote. Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex Leeman X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Roger Child X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Scott Isaacson X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Melissa Layton X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Amy Shumway X Aye ____ Nay GOVERNING BODY REPORTS: City Manager Report City Manager Brigham Mellor asked Councilmembers to watch their emails for a full Festival Days schedule specific to their duties including the parade and breakfast. They are welcome to participate in or referee the kickball game on Friday night. Mayor Anderson and City Council Reports Shumway noted that Parks & Recreation recently cut down mulberry trees. Farmington City Council, July 1, 2025 Page 4 CLOSED SESSION Present: Mayor Brett Anderson, Councilmember Amy Shumway, City Manager Brigham Mellor, City Attorney Paul Roberts, Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex City Recorder DeAnn Carlile, Leeman, Recording Secretary Deanne Chaston, and Councilmember Roger Child, Assistant Community Development Councilmember Scott Isaacson, Director/City Planner Lyle Gibson. Councilmember Melissa Layton, Motion: At 7:13 p.m., Councilmember Alex Leeman made the motion to go into a closed meeting for the purpose of strategy session to discuss the purchase, exchange, or lease of real property. Councilmember Melissa Layton seconded the motion. All Council members voted in favor, as there was no opposing vote. Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex Leeman X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Roger Child X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Scott Isaacson X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Melissa Layton X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Amy Shumway X Aye ____ Nay Sworn Statement I, Brett Anderson, Mayor of Farmington City, do hereby affirm that the items discussed in the closed meeting were as stated in the motion to go into closed session, and that no other business was conducted while the Council was so convened in a closed meeting. __/s/Brett Anderson_______________________________ Brett Anderson, Mayor Motion: At 7:30 p.m., Layton made the motion to adjourn the closed meeting. Leeman seconded the motion. All Council members voted in favor, as there was no opposing vote. Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex Leeman X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Roger Child X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Scott Isaacson X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Melissa Layton X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Amy Shumway X Aye ____ Nay Farmington City Council, July 1, 2025 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT Motion: Leeman made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Child seconded the motion. All Council members voted in favor, as there was no opposing vote. Mayor Pro Tempore/Councilmember Alex Leeman X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Roger Child X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Scott Isaacson X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Melissa Layton X Aye ____ Nay Councilmember Amy Shumway X Aye ____ Nay ________________________________________ DeAnn Carlile, Recorder Farmington City Council, July 1, 2025 Page 6