Saratoga Springs council approves 3 Canyons annexation and plan with conditions tied to Mountain View Corridor

Saratoga Springs — The City Council on Dec. 18 unanimously approved the annexation and accompanying community-plan and master-development agreements for the 3 Canyons project, a planned community on roughly 1,210 acres that proposes about 2,950 residential units, 15 acres of commercial space and approximately 523 acres of open space.

City staff told the council that the project’s gross density would be about 2.4 units per acre and a net density of about 3.25 units per acre after excluding steep slopes and undevelopable land. Staff said the proposal includes five phased village-plan areas and noted a binding phasing mechanism tied to the Mountain View Corridor: the applicant may build up to 900 units before construction on the corridor must commence, after which an additional 550 building permits are allowed until that construction completes.

Public commenters urged caution and school mitigation. Resident Caleb Buzzwell said he opposed the project’s timing and warned that “fear being a motivating factor is not reason to approve a development.” Julie King, president of the Alpine School District Board of Education and the Lake Mountain School District Board of Education, told the council the proposed 2,966 units would generate “more than 2,500 students, enough to require at least 2 new elementary schools,” and asked that the developer donate one elementary-school site and lock in pricing for a second to offset costs for the district.

City staff described multiple conditions of approval and a set of items deferred to village-plan review, including detailed trail ownership and many site-level amenities. Staff also described parking changes and noted that the applicant’s amenity-point submission exceeded city minimums. During discussion, council members asked for clarity on corridor preservation costs and roadway construction estimates; staff and representatives provided preliminary figures for corridor preservation in the tens of millions and a road-segment estimate in the neighborhood of $35 million for one segment under discussion.

A state official attending the meeting emphasized partnership on housing and infrastructure. Steve Waldrop, senior adviser to Governor Spencer Cox for housing strategy and innovation, praised local planning work and said, “The antidote to fear is planning,” adding that the state and partners are committed to accelerating Mountain View Corridor work and that corridor-preservation funds are available.

Council members amended the community-plan/MDA approval to defer decisions about public-trail ownership to village-plan review, to allow donated school-site land to count as public open space with the site’s open-space value to be set at the village-plan stage, and to add parameters around any buffer-waiver decisions at village plan. Staff also noted a substantive change in the development agreement language: a conservation-easement provision was replaced with a 40-year limited mineral withdrawal covering sensitive hillsides; trust-land attorneys were present to answer legal questions.

A motion to approve the annexation (business item 1) was moved, with a first from Councilwoman Barton and a second from Councilwoman Macomber; the council recorded aye votes from members present and adopted the annexation unanimously. The subsequent motion to approve the community plan, master development agreement and general-plan amendment (business item 2), as amended, likewise passed by unanimous vote.

Councilors and staff said the development accelerates several regional transportation projects and will require continued coordination with the school district and state and regional agencies as village plans and permit phases advance. The council closed the meeting after adopting the items.