Herriman residents press council over storage‑facility gate and bright sign; staff to explore fixes

Hundreds of residents packed the Herriman City Council chamber on Dec. 10 to press elected officials for changes to a newly completed storage facility next to Mountain View Corridor, saying a safety gate is insufficient and a bright, illuminated sign shines directly into bedroom windows.

“I live in the house that the sign faces. My children's bedroom windows are on that wall,” said resident Katie Keesaw during public comment, describing a fence about 20 feet from her home and a neon‑green sign that, she said, remains lit through the night despite earlier promises that it would shut off at 10 p.m.

City staff and council members reviewed the project’s approval history, saying a 2020 master development agreement (MDA) and subsequent planning‑commission approvals authorized an 8‑foot precast wall, an emergency access (a so‑called crash gate) and UDOT‑approved access from Mountain View Corridor. Council member Jared (last name not stated on the record) said the approvals met the letter of the MDA but not the expectation some council members and neighbors recalled from earlier discussions.

“The easy thing for me to do is to talk to the developer and see if they'll just agree to be good neighbors and just shut the light off at night,” Jared said during the presentation. He also said the council will pursue code changes to prevent similar conflicts going forward if needed.

Residents told the council the pedestrian cut‑through at the gate is wide enough for a compact car or a motorcycle and is easily navigable on foot, ebike or scooter, creating what several callers called a safety hazard for children waiting at a nearby junior‑high bus stop and a small neighborhood park. Multiple people testified that promised landscaping and painting were incomplete and that the gate installed looks like a chain and padlock rather than the more substantial wrought‑iron style many neighbors expected.

Developer representative Chase Andriese said the company did not intend to create safety issues and that staff had already discussed turning the signage off automatically at night; he offered to explore dimming, timers, or other fixes and to work with city staff on a more secure gate if required. Andriese acknowledged a commitment discussed with staff to have sign lighting shut at 10 p.m. and agreed to re‑engage vendors to ensure the promised timing works.

Council and staff identified several technical constraints that need review before the council can order changes: (1) UDOT required that Mountain View Corridor access be constructed to a public‑street standard in the MDA and that affected how the access was designed; (2) the fire marshal cited the need for an emergency ingress/egress route and a Knox‑box arrangement so first responders can access the site; and (3) ADA and building‑egress rules limit how pedestrian access and egress can be blocked if it serves an accessible path for building occupants.

Rather than make an immediate regulatory change, the council directed staff to take several steps and return with recommendations: press the developer to ensure the sign’s timer/dimmer works as promised (and consider earlier shut‑off times such as 8 p.m.), consult the fire marshal about acceptable crash‑gate designs that provide secure nonvehicular closure while preserving emergency access (Knox box, roll‑away or other options), research whether the pedestrian access can be legally closed or gated consistent with ADA and building code requirements, and evaluate options for additional screening (trees) and a code update so future projects treat all residential types the same on sign setbacks.

The council emphasized it could not unilaterally change some approvals retroactively without legal risk but said it would pursue all available administrative and code remedies and return to the community with concrete options at a future meeting.

Next steps: staff will consult the fire marshal, building official and UDOT permitting records; re‑engage the developer on lighting and gate design; and return to the council with options (including possible ordinance revisions) for a future agenda.