The Orem City Council voted on a motion to deny a request to rezone approximately 24.3 acres at the Canyon Park Tech Center to a Planned Residential Development (PD 54) and to adopt the concept plan submitted by the applicant.

Developers Tri Pointe Homes and the property owner, the Mueller Company, proposed replacing several vacant and lightly used office buildings with a mix of single‑family detached homes and townhomes. The applicant said the change was intended to address persistent office vacancy at the campus and to provide for new for‑sale housing in Orem. Tri Pointe presented a revised plan that reduced the proposed number of units from an earlier 150 to about 108, paired with open space and a homeowners association that would maintain street landscaping and common areas.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on Nov. 6 and forwarded a unanimous recommendation of denial to the City Council; commissioners cited neighborhood compatibility, open‑space loss and the effect of added residential density near existing single‑family neighborhoods. At the Council hearing opponents reiterated those points, emphasizing traffic and parking concerns on 2000 South and Sand Hill Road, potential noise and vibration from the adjacent Union Pacific railroad and the loss of trees and a mature park strip on the western edge of the site. More than 60 people spoke at the meeting, nearly all urging denial or further changes. Several testified in support of protecting the property as open space or seeking a conservation easement.

The developer and property owner argued the campus has significant long‑term office vacancy and that the project would allow a transition that preserves large portions of the existing park‑like setting while bringing new for‑sale housing. They also told the council they had met repeatedly with neighbors and revised the layout and lot sizes in response to feedback.

After deliberation, the council approved a motion to deny the rezone request.

What happened at council: The council considered the Planning Commission record, the applicant’s revised plan and more than an hour of public comment. Council members who voted to deny cited incompatibility with surrounding low‑density neighborhoods and concern about precedent for other property conversions in Orem. Members who spoke in favor of allowing redevelopment cited the high office vacancy in parts of the city’s commercial inventory and the need for more for‑sale housing types. The motion to deny passed at the meeting.

What’s next: The vote was a denial of the PD 54 rezone application before the council. Under Orem procedure, the applicant could choose to revise and resubmit a materially different proposal (for example an alternative layout, a lower total unit count, or a standard R‑zone application) or pursue other options; state and local notice and appeal timelines would apply. The Canyon Park owner and Tri Pointe indicated they will review the council’s feedback and decide on next steps.