Lehi RDA adopts Skyview community reinvestment plan, approves budget and related development agreement

The Lehi Redevelopment Agency and the City Council moved forward with a community reinvestment project area the agency labeled Skyview, a 28.84‑acre retail and mixed‑use parcel north of SR‑92 and just west of Center Street.

At a public hearing the agency adopted a project area map and official project budget and then approved interlocal and development agreements to allow tax‑increment style reimbursements for qualifying public infrastructure and to support recruitment of prospective retail tenants. Agency staff said letters of intent from prospective retailers and fitness users are in process; the developer told the agency it had been negotiating leases and LOIs for months.

Key elements in the agency’s approvals:

- Project area and budget: The agency adopted a 28.84‑acre project area and an official budget for the project area; the budget allocates anticipated incremental sales tax (and related receipts) for developer reimbursement and administrative set‑aside. Staff will file required state notices and the 30‑day public reporting items required by statute.

- Development agreement: The agency approved a development agreement with Gardner Plum and Equestrian Partners (the lead developer) that will reimburse qualifying public‑infrastructure costs on a post‑performance basis. Staff emphasized the agreement requires performance — the developer must build and generate projected sales tax before reimbursements are released.

- Interlocal with the city: The city and the agency approved a companion interlocal agreement to route the city’s portion of incremental sales tax to the agency for reimbursement under the development agreement. Under the model used, a portion of future incremental sales tax will be retained for a 10% set‑aside for low‑ and moderate‑income housing or related programs as required by state law when annual proceeds exceed specified thresholds.

Public comment at the hearing included both support and cautions. One resident urged care about long‑term impacts on services and transparency about how tax increment money is used; others supported the agency’s role in assembling the infrastructure package needed to attract regional retail that, staff said, would not locate without coordinated public‑private investment.

Agency and city staff noted two points often asked by residents: (1) the plan does not itself rezone property — it establishes a financing framework and project area; zoning and land‑use approvals still follow regular planning and building processes; and (2) the agency’s reimbursements are explicitly post‑performance: the developer must build the improvements and generate tax receipts before receiving the pledged portion of incremental revenue.

Ending: The agency and city will complete statutory notices and reporting; staff will monitor LOIs and the developer’s schedule. The development agreement and budget include time limits, administrative fees and a 10% housing set‑aside for qualifying proceeds; staff said they would return to the council with required reports and recommended next steps as tenants and construction plans firm up.