Neighborhood Districts

Neighborhood District 2 Meeting Minutes Oak Hills, Wasatch, Foothills, Provost, Provost South, and Spring Creek Neighborhoods Wednesday, July 31, 2024; 6:00-7:45 PM; Provo City Hall Community Room (445 W Center St) Board Members in Attendance: Ashley Rayback (Conducting), Ann Woodbury, Hannah Petersen, Mary Millar, Kristina Davis (zoom), Ryan Nelson (zoom). Attendance: 21 people in person, 13 people over Zoom = 34 people total. Click here to view the slides presented at the July 31st Neighborhood District 3 meeting. Click here to view the video of the July 31st Neighborhood District 3 meeting. 1. Department Topics A. Truth in Taxation – Provo City Library Director Carla Gordon This past year we had to dip into our reserves, it has been 22 years since asking for an increase and the time has come to do that. The two revenue sources where we get the most money from (vehicles taxes and property taxes) have decreased. The projected amount has been $200-300K less than estimates, and it has been coming in short. The revenues have continued to go down and the deficit has gone up. Things we can control: ● Even if we doubled our library fees, it wouldn’t make a big difference. ● Room rentals will be higher next year but not enough to cover. ● Interest incomes are great and that is where we are getting some money from. Expenses: ● Personnel. Most of our budget goes to staff, even though most of our staff are part-time and they don’t have benefits. ● Parking garage–there is some leaking, $200K for repairs. ● New Chiller, ½ mill 20 Years ago, they increased the tax revenue to the maximum amount, and it turned out we didn’t need all the money. We put the excess into a savings account. About ten years in they had a balanced budget and then they had used their savings. Now is the time we need to have the increase to cover the deficit. Library expenses haven’t gone up, the personnel costs have increased. Question: He was at the City Council meeting where this was voted on, he is curious about the library making modest requests over a few years before this inflated. Will we have to have this same process for every little bump in funding? Answer: Yes, we get almost all income from property tax, so the only way to increase that is through Truth in Taxation. The slice of that doesn’t go up with the property values, it only goes up with new builds and so for any increase they must go through Truth in Taxation. It has been compared to the Water Conservatory, they do a little one and they get used to it, but they would prefer not to. They will probably have to do it every few years. It is nice to have the dedicated money so that it is just for the library, and they don’t have to fight the police. Question: When is the Council approving this and how do we share the opinions? Answer: August 13th at 6 PM, email the council or come to the hearing. Question: Property taxes have gone down, does that affect how much goes to the library? Answer: The way the system is set up is that they can receive no more revenue than the prior year. New revenue comes through new builds. This includes vacant property that is now built on, so as values go up, rates go down. Overall, in the city we saw an increase in valuation, so the rate went down, but the individual property went down. Others will see an increase and that is where it is confusing. Questions specific to valuation are up to the County Assessor.  B. Wildland Urban Interface – Deputy Fire Marshal Jeanie Atherton Click here to view the WUI slides & video presentation. They are trying to create a safer fire space between wild spaces with vegetation and urban areas in Provo. They will do a free estimate and then when you remove materials from your yard, they will take them away from your house and chip them and take them to the dump. They want areas clean and free of flammable items. They would like all the residents throughout Provo city to do this kind of work. Embers can land from up to five miles away even if they’re not in the wildland/urban interface. The Million Dollar Stop: They had string trimmed the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and so when the house was on fire, the short grass stopped the fire from spreading too quickly. It is called The Million Dollar Stop because once they call in outside resources it costs a million dollars. The program goes into August 15th, but it will begin again next season. Question: What about Provo companies that live in the Provo City boundary and aren’t taking care of their boundaries? She called to have something done and nothing happened. It is a fire waiting to happen. Answer: They’ve had discussions with the fire marshal about that and people live out of state and they’re trying to come up with a way to deal with that. The Fire Department can’t initialize it, it must come from another resident. They need to find an answer to the issue. Question: It is McWane Ductile, property between 2000 S and State Street Answer: She will talk to her boss and see what they can do. Question: Our home insurance was canceled because we live in an area where fire is a danger. Answer: This is something that they’re going to have to deal with, the state legislature is getting involved with and they’re trying to get involved. 2. Planning Item Click here to view the full LANA townhomes slide deck. Click here to read the LANA townhomes Trip Generation Study. Chase Freebairn, Home by C.W. Urban, requests a Zone Map Amendment from the M1 (Light Manufacturing) Zone to the MDR (Medium Density Residential) Zone to construct and sell 31 townhome units at 1122 South 900 East in the Spring Creek Neighborhood. (This is currently where trucks are parked for use and repair) City Planner: Dustin Wright (801) 852-6414 dwright@provo.org Application: PLRZ20240193 The city and residents cannot ask for a development agreement, but they can ask how they will guarantee addressing their concerns. The applicant is in the review process at the current time. What is shown tonight might be different than what is presented because the city has asked him to make changes. After they have done that, it will go to the planning commission and the city council. This is intended to be a for sale site. They want this to be a nice, modern, attractive site that is for sale with some amenities. They engaged a traffic engineer, Hales Engineering, to look at parking, proposed use, and impact of the neighborhood. There will be CC&R’s and HOA. How will we as developers ensure that the use is as intended: They will try to sell to homeowners, they can’t control people buying and renting out. There are some mechanisms like a deed restriction. Question: Can the houses be a different color instead of all cookie-cutter and the same colors? Something that fits in with the mountains. Maybe neutral colors. Affordability–what are you assuming that these houses will sell for? Answer: This is not definitive at this point. They have an idea for a certain price, they have to have a product where they can make money, but they have to make sure they don’t get stuck with land and units they don’t sell and it also has to be attainable for the public at large. Mid to high $400’s. There is some variability. As you can see there are other renderings with more colors in the slideshow. Question: What is the square footage of the units? How many feet before the railroad? Answer: Medium Units (there are 10), Large units (21), The medium unit is 1620* finished square feet. They are all three bedrooms and two car garages. The large units are 1822* finished square feet. *The developer later corrected those numbers: medium units are 1,543 finished square feet and large units are 1,746 finished square feet. Question: The anticipated parking is either 70 or 110 parking stalls. Answer: Part of the report is they didn’t know how Provo City would define family occupancy and what they would require for that. They don’t know yet. Question: How close are these to the railroad? Answer: There is a landscape buffer up against the railroad, the closest point the road gets to it is about five feet landscape buffer, 26-foot-wide road, and then the island where the units are. The units look about 35-40 feet from the property line of the railroads to the first unit. Question: Consider more buffer space. She lives on Mountain Vista Lane, and they have the railroad but much further away, larger lots plus a business. When you’re that close to the railroad it might be a caveat for a homeowner. Question: Do the parking stalls include the garage space? Answer: Yes, the parking plan as shown includes the garage. The driveways aren’t big enough for vehicles, but it assumes the unit plus 12 additional stalls in general. Question: She’s glad to see they have their own garage. I don’t think only 12 extra stalls will be enough. There are other developments in the area that have limited parking, and it is a major problem. The garage at the back–a lot of the people come in and they don’t see the beauty of the architecture, they just see the garage. Answer: There are things to do to lighten it up. From a pedestrian standpoint you can see the fronts, but when you come home and park in your garage it doesn’t look good. Question: This is a great entry level development. We need a first-time home buyer option. It is annoying by the railroad. You’ve got cheaper land so there are obviously things people don’t like. What will make or break this is the homeowner occupancy. Parking will become a huge issue when they become rentals. An HOA and a homeowner occupancy for the first year would be amazing, and then when it sells it must be homeowner occupied for a year as well in perpetuity. Question: We once evaluated all the condo and townhome areas in SE Provo, it is more common in SE Provo to have rentals. Slate Canyon had 64% were investors. Across the street was 80% rentals. When the master plan was created, they knew it was a huge place for investors, and it is hard to make things stay when the HOA boards were all made up of investors. The way to control it was to red stripe around the parking lots and limit the parking so that it is hard to have investors and renters there. Question: Are the trucks Rubicon? Answer: Yes. Question: Where will all the trucks go? Answer: The current property owner owns the trucks so they will have to decide what they’ll do with them.  Question: Because it's so close to the railroad, it seems like it’s going to be with families with young children. Is there any fencing as a more permanent barrier so that kids aren’t running onto the railroad? Answer: There will be a community fence around the property. He’s not sure because it’s still in the process of landscape design. Right now, there is a dirty old chain link face. Question: I live in the development that is north and they regularly have people breaking down the fences. Question: There are loud train horns, and it has changed so that there are more trains going in the night now. Question: Do a little bit of study, get a sound engineer involved, find what will bank the noise and send it back. Something sturdier or bricks? There is a code in the books that requires a six-foot development wall. Developer contact information: Chase Freebairn, Director of Land 801-386-6708 chase@builtbycw.com HOME by C.W. Urban, builtbycw.com, 610 North 800 West Centerville UT 84015. 3. Additional Topics A. Public School District Update – Board Member Jennifer Partridge Jennifer represents District 2 as does Meg VanWagenen. They reduced the size of the district personnel and sent them out to the schools. Now each elementary school will have an assistant principal to help with things like behavioral issues, which have increased over the years. Increase in teacher pay: They are closing the gap for the teachers in the middle years of teaching (i.e. years 8-12 of teaching). Wasatch construction: The hiccup is there are some electrical supplies that have been on backorder. They’re hoping to get that equipment and be out of the old school over Christmas break. They must be out of the old building at the end of January. Cell phone policy: They’re working on a policy for high school students, and they’re leaning toward making a policy where students can’t have phones out at any time during class but can have them out during passing periods. B. Safe Routes to School Report from Public Works Provo City Engineering has been coordinating with the Wasatch Elementary School Community Council. Provo City has awarded the construction contract for the new crosswalk and barrier at the intersection of Oak Cliff Drive and Oakmont Lane. Construction to start in August. Provo City has awarded the construction contract for the new sidewalk along 1450 East to Oak Cliff Drive to Oakmont Lane. Construction to start in August. Provo City has awarded the construction contract for sidewalk on Locust Lane between Wasatch Elementary School and approximately 1099 North Locust Lane. Construction to start in August. Provo City has identified the two crosswalk locations on 1450 East for school crossings.* *Correction: crosswalk locations on 1450 East have yet to be determined. Provo City has identified the Reduced Speed School Zone on 820 North at Locust Lane and two school crosswalks. Provo City has identified the intersection improvements to Locust Lane and Apple Avenue to provide for two school crosswalks. Provo City has approved the Keystone Subdivision to construct sidewalk on the south side of 820 North from where it currently ends at 1322 East 820 North for the length of their lots fronting 820 North. C. Water at Rock Canyon Park Report from Public Works Where is the water that used to run down Rock Canyon Park? Rock Canyon Creek is an ephemeral waterbody, which means water does not flow in the creek year-round. The amount of water in the creek is directly related to the amount of snowpack and associated runoff. The last two winters’ snowpack have been above average and average, so water was able to flow all the way to Rock Canyon Park both years. During drought years with low snowpack, water will not make it all the way down to the park. Is it going into the aquifer? Yes. During wet years the flows coming down Rock Canyon are greater than what can get in the ground, so the extra water keeps flowing down into the Rock Canyon Park. Flows will usually start sometime in spring and can go until later summer. During dry years the ground is “thirsty” so the ground soaks up the water and it often doesn’t make it to the park. What is that process? The new pipeline in the area will allow for water to discharge into the creek when there is no longer runoff water coming down. The plan is to recharge the aquifer throughout the whole year to help restore the lowering aquifer levels. Studies show that Rock Canyon is a prime location for aquifer recharge because it can take a lot of water and it moves quickly into the aquifer. How does it affect the natural biology of the area? The creek provides temporary water for animals (deer, bighorn sheep, birds, etc.) and nearby plants, but does not do so year-round because of the ephemeral nature of the creek. Animals and plants in this area are “hardy” and must find ways to find water when the creek dries up. Question: Where is the pipeline dredging water from the creek? Answer: Not sure.* *Answer from Barry Prettyman, Provo City Water Resources Engineer: “The new pipeline is what we are calling the Rock Canyon pipeline. It runs from a pump station that is currently being built just east of the MTC and goes up to Rock Canyon. This water will come from Provo City’s new drinking water plant that is under construction. This water will be discharged into the Rock Canyon Creek where it will seep into the ground and help replenish the lowering groundwater levels.” D. 910 North 900 East Report from Code Enforcement Abandoned apartment complex at 910 North 900 East (NB Park Plaza Apartments) Statement from District 2 Code Enforcement Officer Yader Zelaya, 801-852-6410: “We currently have an open zoning case for all nuisance at the property. Because it is an opened case still, there isn’t much that can be discussed, especially because the case is working its way through the legal system. Having said that, I understand the frustration of the citizens, but please assure them that our Zoning Department, in conjunction with our Legal Department, are working to get a resolution.” Statement from Development Services Director Bill Peperone: “City staff have been in contact with the property owners repeatedly to keep the property and the building secure. Because of the owners’ consistent failure to do this, the city staff would like to move forward with demolition of the building, but this requires a court order. The City Attorney’s Office and the Chief Building Official have been working on a petition to the court. We have received an estimate from a contractor for the demolition and we are prepared to move forward with that if the court will approve our petition. We anticipate filing our petition this week. Getting a judge to agree that we should be able to tear down the building isn't a slam-dunk. We've got records of police calls to the building and the Chief Building Official has inspected the building. We have to convince the judge that the building is dangerous to the public.”  Question: Have they been paying property taxes on it? Can the City take over the property if they haven’t been paying taxes? Answer: Not sure.* *Property tax payment information can be found online at www.utahcounty.gov or by contacting the County. According to Utah Code 59-2-1343, the county can sell a property at auction if the owner is four years behind on property taxes. E. Provo River Original Channel Report (this concerns District 3) This is not a Provo City project. This is a combined County, State, and Federal project. Crews recently completed additions to the aeration system of the Provo River’s original channel for improving dissolved oxygen levels in the water. The aeration system now consists of 36 oxygen-releasing diffusers along the riverbed from Lakeview Parkway to Center Street bridge. The diversion structure has been impacted by high flows and floating debris. Crews will continue to work to provide a long-term and consistently sustainable solution to this problem, but they have had several incidents of vandalism (cut locks and damaged gates) that make it harder for work to go smoothly and to be on schedule. Updates at www.provoriverdelta.us or contact them at (801) 524-3146, urmcc@usbr.gov Rising Utah Lake levels have resulted in an increase in mosquito habitat. Utah Lake peaked this spring at above 4,489 feet, the elevation where it is considered full. Utah County Mosquito Abatement uses a low-flying drone to treat areas for mosquito larvae adjacent to the delta. While no mosquito larvae have been found in the delta, recent monitoring has shown mosquito larvae in the original Provo River channel. Treatment of the original channel started in early July. Utah County Mosquito Abatement typically sprays Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings after sundown. They do not spray on weekends or holidays. Call for spraying 801-851-7637 or https://health.utahcounty.gov/mosquito-abatement/ 4. Public Comment -Angie Carter. Residents believe that there are no plans to work on Slate Canyon Park until 2029. Is there anything we can do as residents to speed up the park development? The area does not have walkable parks. Can development money from the area be earmarked only for our area? Why are we waiting so long? Can any grants be written?* -Gary Garrett. I am happy to talk with Doug Robins in the Parks Department to see what is going on.* -Jennifer Partridge. Do we have any information on the burnt property on the West side of the street across from the abandoned apartment building? -Kristina Davis. The good news for Slate Canyon Park is that an architect firm has been hired. The bad news is that this project has significant water runoff issues and will require a lot of money for mitigation. The plan needed to be redone. There is an 8’ water line under this park leading to Spanish Fork. There are plans for pickleball courts, etc. nearby. This park area must be moved up on the Public Works project list before it can be moved up on the Park Department. One of the best ways to speed this up is to gather neighborhood support and get business funds. This is how Rock Canyon was able to get so much accomplished. The parks department has given us a lot of resources for Slate Canyon Saturdays. Thank you to the Parks Department and the community.* *Email from Provo Parks & Recreation Director Doug Robins: “The Park Development Process Managing the development of new parks with capital improvement funds presents several challenges that require careful consideration and strategic planning. It can be challenging to balance service needs with the diverse expectations and needs of the community regarding park amenities and features. Balancing the maintenance of existing parks, replacing outdated amenities, and constructing new facilities to meet service expectations is a complex task.  Parks & Recreation collaborates closely with the Mayor and City Council to prepare a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that is updated annually, serving as the guiding document for these improvements. The goal is to use the limited resources available to distribute outdoor recreation facilities throughout the City, and sometimes this requires difficult decisions to be made. Funding Sources: • Development Impact Fees: This is the main revenue source for new park development. These revenues fluctuate with the local economy, and recent slowdowns in new development result in slower timeframes for new park construction. • Recreation, Arts, and Parks (RAP) Tax: This local tax revenue is used to renovate and replace existing amenities, such as restrooms, playgrounds, pavilions, the Covey Center for the Arts, and other outdoor recreation facilities. • Grants: Development Impact Fees and RAP funds are the source funds that are used to leverage grants from outside groups and agencies. Each project has a unique funding strategy to extend the amount of limited local funding to accomplish more projects and accelerate project timelines. Aligning with the direction from the City Council, we have adopted a “pay as you go” approach rather than pursuing large public bonding commitments. This conservative and steady funding strategy has been successful, but the park development process may often seem slow. There are several sites and neighborhoods in Provo awaiting park development or expansion, including Stutz Park, Sunset View Park expansion, Bicentennial Park expansion, Canyon Glen Park expansion, off-leash dog parks, Lakewood Neighborhood Park, and others. Neighbors of Stutz Park have inquired about the timeline for their neighborhood park development. Each project has a unique funding strategy that matches local funds with any applicable grant opportunities. This approach maximizes funding to expand what can be delivered. For example, much of the funding for the development of the Epic Sports Park came from outside Provo City. The same applies to Rock Canyon Trailhead, the new Delta Gateway Park, and several other projects. Specific to Slate Canyon To clarify expectations, it was never intended to develop all available land at Slate Canyon simultaneously. The original plan was to construct a trailhead and parking facility at the canyon, which is now operational. The design committee then expanded the vision to include additional open space nearby for outdoor recreation opportunities, leading to the conceptualization of additional project phases. $1.25 million was recently invested in acquiring an additional 29 acres of critical hillside land at Slate Canyon, increasing the City-owned land in that area east of Slate Canyon Drive to 145 total acres. This area has been rezoned as Open Space, Preservation, and Recreation (OSPR). This expanded acreage will provide opportunities for multi-phased outdoor recreation development in the future. Provo Public Works has identified future public infrastructure needs and unique utility challenges in the area that will adjust the layout of future recreation amenities. With these new realities, Parks & Recreation initiated a new design advisory committee of residents to revisit the master plan and potential phases. This work is ongoing. Meanwhile, in the current CIP, funding will accumulate over the next four fiscal years for the next phase. These accumulations of development impact fees and RAP revenues are projected to provide $4 million toward the next phase in FY 2029. We will remain attentive to other funding opportunities to make this possible.” 5. Adjournment