A question of density: Developers floating new Olympia Hills plan

By John Rogers 

Developers Doug Young and Cory Shupe have come back to the public, hoping to gain support for their retooled Olympia Hills high-density residential community in far southwest Salt Lake County. Their original proposal met stiff opposition last year from area residents and was eventually vetoed last summer by then-Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. The developers have launched a new public campaign hoping to soften the backlash they experienced with their first proposal. If successful, Young and Shupe will then submit the new proposal to the county for rezoning.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Most of the original opposition to Olympia Hills was based on population density and the resultant traffic congestion, water supply concerns and impact on public schools. This time around, Young and Shupe feel they can answer those concerns.

The Salt Lake County Council originally passed the zoning changes that would have made Olympia Hills a reality in early 2018. That original plan called for 8,700 residential units — a combination of condominiums, single-family homes and apartments — on 930 acres of unincorporated land west of Herriman. Under the developers’ new proposal, about 6,500 households would occupy 938 acres. The new plan reduces the project density from about nine units per acre to under seven, more in line with nearby developments like Herriman Creek Ridge and Riverton’s Mountain View community.

Young and Shupe say they also have more detailed answers to questions about traffic, water and schools. They are scheduling open house meetings to take public input. They said that they are willing to listen to that input and make changes if necessary before presenting their final plans to the county council for approval. The developers hope the new transparency will help allay the outrage they experienced with the original proposal. Many residents say they learned about the project very late in the process last time. Young and Shupe don’t want that to happen this time.

If approved, Olympia Hills would be built near the site of an abandoned mining town that arose to accommodate workers at the nearby Kennecott Copper Mine in 1866. Young and Shupe are citing the history of Lark to promote their vision for Olympia Hills. But this time the residents of the “company town” would be workers at Utah tech industry companies like Adobe, Google and Facebook.

“We want to focus on creating and seeing jobs come to the area rather than just housing,” Young told The Salt Lake Tribune. “We are not marketing Olympia to builders. We are marketing Olympia to the tech companies of the world.”

The new layout also includes an “institutional business, research or educational campus” in partnership with Utah State University. The descendants of Elmer and Margaret Bastian recently donated 100 acres of former family wheat fields to the university where USU’s Extension Services hopes to build a working farm and teaching center to keep the land in agriculture and to honor the Bastian family’s history. To be named the Bastian Agricultural Center, the farmland falls within the Olympia Hills project. Young said that the Bastian land, combined with other open spaces, will lower the residential density and make the project more palatable to nearby residents.

Salt Lake County said last week that county leaders will host public hearings on the revised Olympia Hills project. Ryan Perry, a spokesperson for Mayor Jenny Wilson said the county is working with Young and Shupe to forge a development agreement that can then be presented to the county council.

“We are looking forward to addressing the citizens’ concerns,” Perry said.{/mprestriction}