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Council discusses growth, development agreement and annexation risks with neighboring Eagle Mountain
Summary
Councilmembers debated long-term growth strategy, a reported development agreement being prepared by Jared Westhoff, and concerns that a nearby project and Eagle Mountain’s interest in access or water could pressure Fairfield toward annexation or other strategic responses; no formal annexation action was taken.
Councilmembers turned from traffic-calming to a broad discussion about growth, zoning and the town’s ability to shape future development.
Speaker 4 framed the issue bluntly: "I get people wanting Fairfield to stay small town, and I appreciate the comments ... but that's not an option." He and others said the council’s role is to shape how growth occurs rather than to stop growth entirely.
Speaker 2 reported that Jared Westhoff is "actively working on a development agreement for our town" and flagged a separate nearby project of about 2,200 acres that borders Fairfield and has sought water or access through Eagle Mountain. "They asked about annexing us," Speaker 2 said, adding the developers had asked about buying water and connecting roads that could create annexation pressure.
Speakers linked the development pressure to local infrastructure projects such as a roundabout and to landfill access roads, suggesting those transport links could be factors in how the larger project connects to Fairfield. Council members discussed proactively pursuing infrastructure or annexation strategies to retain control of growth and to discourage detachment.
Several members praised recent professional hires (Bowen Collins, Todd) and emphasized the importance of professional planning staff in shaping outcomes. No formal development agreement text or statutory authority was presented at the meeting; Speaker 2 said he had not yet seen the proposed development agreement.
The discussion concluded without a directive to approve or oppose any current annexation or development agreement. Council members encouraged further internal discussion and outreach to property owners mentioned during the meeting.
Next steps are dependent on staff and commissioners bringing a formal development agreement or annexation proposal back to a future meeting for consideration.
