Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Developer seeks shorter restaurant marketing window for Olympus Hills West Village Center; council presses for stricter signage and 'good-faith' standards
Summary
At a July 13 work session, the developer of the Olympus Hills West Village Center asked the council to shorten the required restaurant marketing period and allow some illuminated signage; council members signaled support for stricter marketing timelines and technical limits on lighting to protect nearby homes.
Brad Sanderson, Millcreek’s current planning manager, introduced a proposed development agreement for the Olympus Hills West Village Center at 3962–3963 S Wasatch Boulevard and invited the applicant to describe the project.
Applicant Lee Dial said the design now includes two residential buildings connected by a shared podium, two levels of underground parking, and a proposed "4,000-square-foot restaurant" with roughly "10,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space." Dial asked the council to require a shorter marketing period—12 months after building permit issuance instead of the Planning Commission’s recommended 24 months—so the project could shift to other commercial uses sooner if a restaurant tenant is not found. He also requested limited illuminated signage on building facades to help attract tenants.
Council Member Bev Uipi and others pushed back on the shorter timeframe, noting a typical 20-month construction schedule could let a developer pivot before opening. After discussion, Dial said an 18-month period from permit issuance would be workable. City Attorney John Brems recommended any flexibility be contingent on the developer constructing the commercial space to restaurant standards—installing grease traps and vent shafts—to demonstrate a "good-faith effort" to secure a restaurant tenant.
Neighbors who live west of the site raised lighting and visual concerns during the regular meeting. Vicky DiGregorio urged the council to "eliminate or significantly limit" upper-level illuminated signage, asked that residents be shown renderings from their perspective, and requested additional landscaping along the western façade. Council members asked staff and the applicant to provide additional visual analysis and to refine technical parameters (brightness, color temperature, and prohibition of flashing or scrolling LED signs) before finalizing development-agreement language.
The item was presented as a first reading; the council did not take a final vote on the development agreement at this meeting.
