City Council Public Hearing - TOD Zone Text Ammendment
Station Park "Ground Beaking" PR Event
Posted August 14th, 2008 by adminCenterCal held their "official groundbreaking" event yesterday for Station Park. Deseret News reports on it here: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700250697,00.html
No real new information but this is the first time anything about an ice skating rink has been mentioned.
Planning Commission Tables TOD Issue
Posted August 8th, 2008 by adminStandard Examiner - "America West blocked"
Posted August 7th, 2008 by chiltonRon seems to use the word "value" loosely in this context. For this project to gain even a small percentage of public support the "value" to the community has to at least match that of the value to his investors. The value equation he presented was severely lopsided in favor of the investors.
Change in TOD Zoning Law - Special Public Hearing - Thursday August 7, 2008 7:00PM
Tomorrow Thursday August 7, 2008 7:00PM at City Hall the Planning
Commission will be holding a special meeting with a public hearing.
This special meeting is to address the changes in text to the TOD
(transit oriented development) zoning ordinance. Since this is
a public hearing you should go and express your opinion about what west Farmington should to look like. If you can't
attend the meeting at least send a email to the Commissioners letting
them know how you feel. Here
is a list of email addresses: link.
At first blush this may seem like an awfully boring meeting to attend. After all few people want to sit through a discussion on
the language of municipal zoning law. Take courage the reason you will want
to voice your option on this is because a vast amount of acreage in
west Farmington is zoned TOD. All the undeveloped land around
the commuter rail station is zoned TOD. This is about 240 acres
total.
Last night the developer America West brought a plan to the City Council
for approval. The plan called for 160-300 apartment units to be
built on 12+ acres. Most Farmington residents oppose this kind of
residential density. The reason he could even propose this plan was
the current TOD zoning law allows for this kind of development. The
City Council denied the plan over technicalities that could easily be
fixed for future proposals.
This 12 acre plot is the first of 240 acres to be built out in a
TOD zone. If you have a different vision for west Farmington than
high density apartment complexes please let the Planning Commission
know your feelings by attending the 7:00PM tomorrow night meeting at
City Hall.
Application for High Density Appartments Denied, For Now
Posted August 6th, 2008 by chilton
Last night the City Council voted
unanimously to deny the application by Ron Martinez of America West
for approval of the project master plan of "Park Place".
The plan as presented at the meeting showed the project having 7
buildings with 24 apartment units each for a total number of 168
units. However the Mayor pointed out that proposed plan was
ambiguous enough to possibly allow for well over 300 units. The
development also called for a 10,000 sq. ft. restaurant and office
space in a two level building and another building with a credit
union. A club house with pool, hot tub, and play ground were
specified as community amenities.
Ron Martinez explained that America West would not ultimately be
the builders. America West has letters of intent from large
apartment management companies who will ultimately build the
apartments. The banks and restaurant/office will be built by
their respective owners. The whole development would be a $25
million investment for all involved. The rest of his 148 acres
up the tracks would be roughly a $150 million investment.
A
dozen or so Farmington residents spoke against the proposal with Ron
Martinez, two individuals of his team, and a SLC developer
speaking for it. Unexpectedly (at least from a residents
perspective) was that the real fireworks was between the Mayor/City
Council and the developer and his team. The developer had taken
real issue to the the City's TOD (transit oriented development)
zoning ordinance. To the developer the ordinance was much too
ambiguous leaving them frustrated at delays by City staff and
"subjectivity" imposed by the Planning Commission and the
City Council. The City fired back by pointing out equal
ambiguity in the developer's project master plan.
This was a
small battle won by those who oppose dense housing in Farmington.
However this parcel will be developed and the City does seem to be
sympathetic to building some level of high density housing (non
single family units) there. They just didn't like America
West's current proposal.
Up next in the shaping of the look
and feel of west Farmington is the battle for changes in the TOD
zoning ordinance text. The planning commission will hold a
special meeting with a public hearing on August 7th at 7:00PM to
discuss the text changes of the TOD zoning ordinance.
The TOD zoning ordinance text is
absolutely critical to get right as developers internalize this law
when planning their development projects. The City is legally bound
to approve development plans that comply with the zoning ordinance.
This is why the City Council and Planning Commission are scrambling
to get new TOD zoning text approved.
City Council Public Hearing - August 5th 7:00PM - A Million Apartments
On Tuesday August 5, 2008 at 7:00PM the City Council will hold a public
hearing. Here is the official description, "Consideration of approval
of a Project Master Plan for a 12.86 acre development known as “Park
Place” located between Clark Lane, 1100 West and the former D&RGW
rail line. The development proposal calls for high density residential
and commercial mixed use - America West Development."
Don't let the subject line alarm you, at least too much. It is there to get your attention. However someone did describe the development being planned west of the Fair Grounds as "a million apartments". The official description of the development plan is "high density residential and commercial mixed use". So to some this may seem like "a million apartments".
For anyone who cares about how west Farmington is going to be built out this will be an important meeting to attend and voice your opinion. America West Development not only owns the chunk of land in question but also owns the 100+ acres north of Clark Lane and east of the D&RGW tracks. This little 12.86 acre development will most likely be a model for how the rest of the 100+ acres gets built out.
Another consideration for this "Park Place" development is that it will be built right smack in the middle of where UDOT wants to build the Legacy Connector. Some may argue that a "high density residential" wall of homes would be a fantastic way to get UDOT to rethink its connector plans. Others may see this development as a way for the developer to leverage a higher sale price on the land when UDOT tries to negotiate the purchase.
However you perceive this development you should come to the meeting to make sure your voice and your opinion is known to the City Council. Whether its high density residential or a freeway, west Farmington is at stake.
Check back at http://www.farmingtoncitizens.org as more information will be posted when it is available.
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Just a note about this email list. This list only reaches about 300 people. So if your neighbors don't know about it please forward this email on to them and ask them to sign up at http://www.farmingtoncitizens.org. They can always opt out anytime.
Deseret News Station Park Article
Posted July 21st, 2008 by adminDeseret News also reports on the Station Park development here in Farmington Utah. This is no surprise that DNews has published this article as the SLTrib and the Clipper have already reported on this in the last week. Here is the Deseret News article: Farmington project to break ground.
The article does add some new information about the tenant mix: "Cinemark movie theater, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, J.C. Penney, Ross, Staples, Petco, Lane Bryant, Sports Authority and Bed, Bath & Beyond, all within walking distance of the FrontRunner parking lot." This is a first we have seen Petco and Sports Authority as named tenants in published media. You can see the whole list of tenants here: Updated Station park Site Plan
Interesting how the article highlights opinions on how close the development is to residential neighborhoods. Mr. Dougherty uses the words "within walking distance". There is concern that getting in and out of the development will not be pedestrian friendly. This probably has more to do with the City getting its act together than the fault of the development. Hopefully the City will put sidewalks all along Clark Lane especially west of Park Lane.
Currently the FrontRunner Station cannot be accessed by foot. The main access road to the station explicitly states no to foot traffic. They weren't kidding when they called FrontRunner a commuter train. The only authorized way to get there is by hopping on wheels. Hopefully the City and CenterCal will work together to make pedestrian access from west residential neighborhoods a reality.
Farmington Stake Parade Float Gets Highlighted
Posted July 17th, 2008 by adminHere is a local story that is outside the focus of this political website but is still relevant to the Farmington community.
The SLTrib highlights the float built by the Farmington Utah Stake: "An incredible, edible . . . float?"
This is a fantastic float that has already been featured in a number of Davis County parades. The detail and labor that went into building this float is amazing.
More News Articles About Station Park
Posted July 17th, 2008 by adminThe Clipper is running an article on Station Park today: "Station Park ‘unlike anything else in Utah’". This article is similar to the SL Tribune's article reported on earlier: SLTrib Reports on Farmington's Station Park. CenterCal must be making a PR push by inviting "officials" to check out the model on the heals of a August 13th ground breaking ceremony.
The image included with the Clipper article is of a model that doesn't model the entire development. You will notice there isn't depicted the big box retail strip of buildings that border the east side of the development. This big box element of the development isn't touted very much in the media and by CenterCal. Showing yet another big box retail development isn't going to get much attention. However when things start to get built the big box retail is going to be a major part of the visual experience and a detraction. Everyone needs to keep in check the reality of what this development is as a whole. Yes, there are nice elements of the development but a two acre park will not offset the eye sore of hundreds of thousands of square feet of big box retail.