Mayor Dave Young said he is running for a final term to prevent a return to what he described as "failed policies" that brought heavy apartment development to Orem.

Young told host Brad Daw that Orem had taken in "about 3,800 units of high density" in the previous decade and that plans he encountered during his first term proposed "10,000 more." He said the city had reached a point where adding more dense rental housing would alter the community's character and increase traffic.

"You absolutely do" lose neighborhood character with more density, Young said. He called the argument that high-density housing is an affordable option a "myth," noting that "for 2 and 3 bedrooms, you're paying 15 to $2,300 a month," and said that many rentals already cost about the same as small single-family homes.

Young tied public-transport proposals to the housing issue, criticizing what he called the "BRT" planning. He said the system, now commonly rebranded as UVX in some corridors, carried a zoning consequence: station-area plans that require high-density development within a set radius of bus stops. "It's like a Trojan horse that brings density into your city," Young said.

The mayor described several recent development fights in Orem as examples of his approach: he said the city pressed back on a proposed Canyon Park redevelopment that the developer repeatedly reduced from roughly 350 units to 78 units across several iterations before the council approved the smaller plan; he also criticized Midtown Village as a poor long-term zoning fit and said the complex sat empty for years after bankruptcy and multiple ownership changes.

Young said the city council and mayor must act as a check on developers. "If you're just approving everything ... that's how you wind up with a giant mess," he said, recounting that previous decades saw city leaders approve dense projects without stronger resistance.

Young framed his re-election pitch as preserving what he called "Orem" — the city's character, parks and single-family neighborhoods — and said he would not allow what he called outside forces to reverse the council's recent approaches to development.

He urged voters to research candidates before voting and said he would step down after this term to allow others to lead.