Bluffdale council approves reduced transportation impact fee for Woodbury-Kroger project

Bluffdale — The Bluffdale City Council on a voice/roll-call vote approved Resolution 2024-57 on a reduced transportation impact fee for the Bluffdale Marketplace (Woodbury) grocery project and authorized execution of an agreement with Woodbury and Kroger, staff said.

Staff presenter Grant Kroll told the council the action would memorialize terms among the city, Bluffdale Marketplace LC (Woodbury) and Kroger and address a change in the transportation impact-fee calculation. "This project's been going on for a really long time," Kroll said, summarizing negotiations and the agreement framework.

Kroll and staff said the fee calculation changed during the project’s due-diligence period and that a new transportation figure reached about $1,100,000. Historically, Woodbury fronted construction of 1 Fortieth South under a reimbursement agreement; staff said Woodbury is still owed about $1,400,000 for that work. The resolution as presented applies a negotiated amount of $849,000 plus anticipated future property sales in the development to make Woodbury whole, according to Kroll.

City staff described the change in methodology for calculating the transportation impact fee as a simplification of a previously complex approach that had sometimes required site-specific traffic studies. A staff speaker said the earlier council had applied a temporary 40% reduction to spur development; that reduction later expired and the recalculation raised commercial fees in particular.

Council members asked whether the agreement would affect other site plans. Staff said the proposed reduction was narrowly drafted to apply only to the grocery store project before the council and that other applicants could request reductions in the future but would be considered separately. One council member pressed whether the developer had committed to a construction start date; staff said they had heard the developer indicate a target start by the 20th but that was a verbal commitment between private parties, not a city-enforceable agreement.

Council Member Astin moved to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded (as recorded in the transcript). During roll call, members explicitly asked by name in the transcript and recorded as "Yes" included Council Member Austin, Council Member Weiding, Council Member Crockett and Council Member Lord; the mayor announced the motion passed.

The council’s action authorizes staff to finalize the agreement and proceed with permit issuance as appropriate. Staff said permits and remaining technical items were nearly complete and that this agreement was likely one of the last steps before construction could begin. The resolution is identified in the record as Resolution 2024-57.

Next steps: staff will finalize and execute the agreement with the parties and continue permit processing. The city did not set an enforceable developer start date in the resolution; any construction timing noted in the discussion was described by staff as an indication from the developer rather than a binding term.