Committee recommends certification of station‑area plans for Layton and South Jordan; slivers in West Haven, Harriman cleared as impracticable

The Regional Growth Committee voted Aug. 21 to recommend certification to the full Wasatch Front Regional Council for several station‑area plans and to forward determinations that station‑area planning is impracticable for small portions of other station areas.

What the committee recommended: The committee voted to recommend the Council certify: - Layton Frontrunner Station area plan (full station area), with planned multimodal improvements including a proposed pedestrian bridge across the rail line. - South Jordan Frontrunner Station area plan (about 300 acres between I‑15 and the Jordan River); staff and the mayor said roughly 90% of buildable land in the plan area is already developed and the plan preserves river frontage and conservation easements while adding potential infill commercial and housing sites (the city reported a recently approved project of about 225 homes).

The committee also recommended that the Council accept statutory findings of impracticability (i.e., that creating a separate station‑area plan was impracticable) for three very small “sliver” areas, including West Haven’s portion of the Roy Frontrunner station (approximately 8.2 acres, about 1.5% of the overall station area) and portions in Harriman and a small area tied to the Clearfield station radius. WFRC staff said the statute allows a city to declare parts of a required station area impracticable under certain conditions.

Why it matters: Station‑area certification is used to align local land use with transit investments and helps communities access planning and capital resources for transit‑oriented development. WFRC staff said that, with approved and certified station‑area plans to date, the region has planned more than 50,000 new homes in station areas and is on a trajectory toward about 100,000 planned homes in station areas.

Local details: - West Haven: City staff said the West Haven portion of the Roy station totals about 8.2 acres split among three parcels; most already have entitlements or are developed, and the city council found a station‑area plan for those small parcels impracticable. - Layton: City staff described constraints (I‑15, Case Creek, the rail corridor) and noted active projects in the station area including new multifamily housing and a pedestrian bridge project to connect east and west sides of the station area. - South Jordan: Mayor Dawn Ramsey said the area contains major employers including the Ultradent campus, conservation easements, floodplain and other constraints, and that the plan aims to preserve riverfront while allowing targeted commercial and housing infill.

Votes at a glance: The committee moved each recommendation and recorded voice votes approving the recommendations to forward certification or impracticability findings to the full Wasatch Front Regional Council; no opposing votes were recorded during the meeting.

Next steps: Recommendations will be considered by the full Wasatch Front Regional Council at its next meeting; station‑area certification continues to be part of the region’s implementation of the Wasatch Choice Vision.