Hooper City staff outline $100,000 regional planning grant, some council members raise process concerns

Hooper City staff told the council on May 15 that the city has been awarded a regional Technical Planning Assistance (TPA) grant through the Wasatch Front Regional Council to help update design standards and transportation planning.

Staff described the grant award as totaling $100,000, with a $10,000 local match and $90,000 of consultant funding. The scope described in the grant letter includes public engagement, updates to street and commercial design standards, refinements to the zoning and future land-use maps, and preparation of a transportation master plan and related documents that could be used for an impact-fee study.

Staff said the next administrative steps are drafting a preliminary scope of work, issuing an RFP for qualified consultants, selecting a consultant after July 1 and beginning consultant work in roughly August 2025. The project timeline given in the award letter anticipates consultant work concluding about Jan. 31, 2027.

Council members asked questions about process and local control. Multiple members stated they were surprised the grant submittal language described the city as facing rapid growth in ways they felt were not accurate for Hooper. One council member said planning commission input should have come before the grant submittal and argued the planning commission is the appropriate first venue for starting general-plan amendments. City staff replied the grant application was an initial submittal to secure funding; planning commission and public engagement would occur during the consultant-selected scope of work and before any ordinance or map changes were finalized.

Staff and council discussed local priorities the grant could support, including West Weaver Corridor coordination, design standards for equestrian and pedestrian routes, and updates to road development standards. Staff emphasized the award is a planning grant intended to fund consultant work and public engagement; any zoning or policy changes would be developed later with public hearings and planning commission review.

Ending: councilmembers asked staff to ensure planning commission and key stakeholders are engaged in the next phase; staff said they will return with a scope and schedule and that the local match ($10,000) is budgeted in next fiscal year funds and will be paid after July 1 if council approves the FY2025-26 budget.