Eagle Mountain Planning Commission, 22 September 2026

In short: Four planning commissioners voted 4-0 on each item and sent all four proposals to the City Council with a positive recommendation. The largest was a rezone that opens a 41-acre family farm southwest of the QTS site to data center development, with its development agreement. The other two let residents clear plants near wildland to protect homes from fire and allow archery ranges. Earlier, recreation staff described crowded gyms and fields and too few workers.

Present: Rod Hess (chair), Jason Allen, Bryan Free, Chad DeCoursey. Brent Strong and Laura Jensen were excused.

Staff: Jason Hall (recreation programs, presented the work session item), Elizabeth "Beth" Fewkes (long range planner), Natalie Winterton (presented the archery code change), David Stroud (senior planner), Marcus (city legal department, surname not given), Megan (collected public comment forms). Applicant: Reagan Beck (landowner, Corrigan Farms), who attended with co-owner Corey Sosa.

Decisions

#	Agenda ref	Motion	Moved / Seconded	Vote	Result
1	5.A	Approve the September 8, 2026 minutes as presented	Allen / DeCoursey	4-0 (Free, DeCoursey, Hess, Allen yes)	Passed
2	7.A	Positive recommendation to City Council on the wildland fire-risk code changes, as presented	Hess / Free	4-0 (DeCoursey, Hess, Allen, Free yes)	Passed
3	7.B	Positive recommendation to City Council on the archery code changes, as presented	Allen / DeCoursey	4-0 (Hess, Allen, Free, DeCoursey yes)	Passed
4	7.C	Positive recommendation to City Council on the Corrigan Farms rezone	Allen / Hess	4-0 (Allen, Free, DeCoursey, Hess yes)	Passed
5	7.D	Positive recommendation to City Council on the Corrigan Farms development agreement, as presented	Allen / Free	4-0 (Free, DeCoursey, Hess, Allen yes)	Passed
6	11	Adjourn	Not named / not named	Voice vote	Passed

Settled without a vote:

• On the fire-risk item, staff offered to reword the "WUI lot" definition so it covers a lot that is only partly inside the fire-risk area. Hess chose not to add this to his motion, so the rewording was left to staff.
• Marcus turned down Hess's suggestion to cite the city's adopted fire code more broadly. He said the city would deal with it if it ever became a problem.
• Marcus said he would clarify Article VII of the Corrigan Farms agreement so that the developer can end the agreement only before development begins.
• DeCoursey asked whether a 10-year term with extensions tied to milestones could replace the 20-year term. Marcus said milestones could be discussed with the owner but would be hard to set before a buyer is known. The agreement was recommended without that change.
• Free suggested that data center agreements include a standard review every 10 years or so. No one acted on the idea.
• The status report was skipped because planning manager Brandon Larson was excused.
• The next meeting is Tuesday, October 13. Allen said he may miss it because his family is expecting a baby around then.

Meeting map

Agenda ref	Topic	~Start (elapsed)	One-line note
1.A	Sports and recreation planning	0:01	Jason Hall on programs, growth, and shortages of gyms, fields and staff
1.A	Commission discussion of recreation	0:23	Open space in new developments, a possible second regional park, trails
1.B	Agenda review	0:28	Short check-in with each presenter
2–3	Call to order, Pledge of Allegiance	0:32	Chair notes the online video is down; audio only
4	Conflicts of interest	0:33	None declared; Strong and Jensen excused
5.A	September 8 minutes	0:34	Approved 4-0
6	Status report	0:35	Skipped; planning manager absent
7.A	Wildland fire-risk code changes	0:35	Plat notes, plant removal, definitions; recommended 4-0
7.B	Archery code changes	0:44	Archery added to the shooting overlay zone; recommended 4-0
7.C	Corrigan Farms rezone	0:50	41 acres to the RTI overlay; applicant and two residents spoke; recommended 4-0
7.D	Corrigan Farms development agreement	1:16	Terms, confidentiality, taxes and fees explained; recommended 4-0
8	Discussion items	1:37	None
10	Next scheduled meeting	1:37	October 13
11	Adjournment	1:38	Voice vote, 7:36 p.m.

Discussed but NOT on the agenda: the chair's notice that the online video feed was down, and Allen's mention that the city's general plan update is on hold.

On agenda but little/no discussion: Pledge of Allegiance, conflicts of interest, status report (skipped), discussion items (none), and the policy-session agenda review, which was not held.

What was discussed

1.A — Sports and recreation planning

Jason Hall, who coordinates the city's sports and recreation programs, gave the commission a training session. He walked through youth and adult programs run by city staff, programs run with partners such as Snapology (a LEGO robotics STEM class held in the council chambers), and field rentals that staff still schedule and prepare. The city took youth soccer back from an outside group this fall, and a little over 800 children signed up. Track and field, cross country and youth pickleball were added in about 2024. Hall said staff are "pretty much to max," and two part-time recreation coordinator jobs and two athletic maintenance jobs are now open.

Space is the main limit. The city has no recreation center or building of its own, so it rents gyms school by school. Each school decides on its own, and three or four have not answered this season's requests. Ranches Academy once refused, and John Hancock may now be open to renting. Younger Junior Jazz teams now practice right before their games because gym time ran out. Adult softball runs only in the fall because youth baseball fills the fields Monday through Saturday in spring. One coordinator prepares fields from 7:00 a.m. until about 12:30 and then returns for evening games. Nolan Park is shared by soccer, tackle football and flag football. Youth hockey takes over two of four tennis courts each week, and adults want permanent rinks for rollerblade hockey.

Hess asked whether soccer is better run by the city. Hall said "yes and no": the city now has control, but staff shortages hurt its attention to detail. Allen said an active community is part of the city's brand. Free said new developments such as Overland and Firefly could plan their open space to serve wider recreation, and he raised protecting mountain biking trails as Mid-Valley Road is built. Allen said a second regional park, perhaps on the north or northwest side, could be studied when the paused general plan update resumes.

7.A — Wildland fire-risk lots and plant removal

Fewkes explained that the wildland urban interface (WUI) covers places where homes sit next to undeveloped land and face a higher wildfire risk. The change had two sources. A new state law says no city rule may stop a resident from removing landscaping to protect a home from fire. The City Council had also rejected setback rules that fire officials recommended earlier, because of concerns about owners' use of their land, and asked instead to judge risk case by case. So final plats (the recorded subdivision maps) will note which lots are in the fire-risk area. Staff will flag every application in that area for the commission and council, and supporting definitions were added.

Hess asked who draws the fire-risk map. Fewkes said the city does and can change it. The state sets limits: the city may be less strict than state standards but not more strict. No one spoke at the public hearing. Allen supported the change as a gain for property rights that also helps protect the city's edge. Hess asked whether a lot only partly inside the area counts. A staff member said the language could make clear that any part counts, though such split lots were unlikely. Hess then moved to recommend the item as presented.

7.B — Archery ranges

Winterton said the City Council had asked for code to allow archery ranges. Staff placed archery in the city's existing shooting overlay zone, which already governs gun ranges, and added archery-specific standards drawn from USA Archery, the sport's governing body in the United States. Allen asked where the rules might apply. Winterton said the council had shown interest in the area near the rodeo grounds but she was unsure it would meet the standards. An indoor range would be treated differently.

No one spoke at the public hearing. DeCoursey supported the change and tied it to the work session's theme of an active community. He added that Wasatch Wing and Clay, where he has shot on a 3D archery course, is probably outside city limits.

7.C — Corrigan Farms rezone

Stroud presented a request to add the RTI overlay zone to about 41 acres southwest of the QTS project now under construction. The land's base zone stays agriculture, and the overlay's rules apply on top of it. City code states the overlay's purpose as "large-scale technological clean industrial and high-tech manufacturing uses that will increase the tax base and/or provide jobs." The overlay already covers the land to the north, east and south, and Utah County land lies to the west. Stroud said no building plan exists yet. The companion agreement lists accessory uses, which may only support a main use.

Reagan Beck, a co-owner and a counselor at Cedar Valley High School, said his family has lived in the city for years and farms the land with its own well. They have no buyer, builder or end user. He said they want the zoning and agreement settled first so they can "control how we went forward," and that their water right is older than those of most residents. Asked by DeCoursey whether the land differs from its neighbors, Beck said no. Layton Construction already uses part of it as a staging yard for QTS, and "we're not going to build a house" there.

Two residents spoke. One, a resident of Spring Run, said a clause treating water-use data as confidential business information felt "sneaky," and asked why it was needed if water was not a problem. Another said the city should not be "for sale," and that once land is rezoned, "the right check" decides what comes. Staff reported two online comments opposed. Allen noted that the overlay targets projects with at least 100 permanent jobs paying at least the Utah County average wage. He added that a 2026 state law, House Bill 76, requires data centers to disclose yearly water use, and that the city requires water rights before approval. DeCoursey said it was hard to justify treating one parcel surrounded by the overlay differently. Free urged owners to be careful who they sell to.

7.D — Corrigan Farms development agreement

Marcus explained that land in the RTI overlay can use the city's staff-level approval process only when a development agreement is in place. This one follows the city's standard data center template, used with QTS, Meta and Tract. Terms specific to this site sit in Article 5 and cover sewer, water, roads, natural gas lines and power distribution for a data center with power generation as a supporting use. He said it carries no tax incentives, which older agreements included. The confidentiality clause lets the owner see public records requests under the state records law (GRAMA) and claim trade secrets. An independent official decides those claims, and the owner pays to defend them on appeal.

DeCoursey found the 20-year term long. Marcus said most data center agreements run 40 years on larger sites. This one was cut to 20 to give time to find a buyer, and it limits the land to the listed uses. Hess asked about later phases. Marcus said site plans, plats, building permits and inspections all go through staff, but in this overlay without a public hearing. Free asked about road repairs, and Marcus said builders repay the share of early road wear their trucks cause. On taxes, the city agrees not to push taxes aimed at this project or the data center industry, though general tax increases still apply. Impact fees (one-time charges for new public facilities) are set when a building permit is filed. Beck said he had wanted 100 years. No one spoke at the hearing.

Notable moments

• Video feed down. Hess told online viewers that only the meeting audio was streaming.
• Status report skipped. Hess said planning manager Brandon Larson was excused because he was "home celebrating his birthday."
• Comment rules changed. When Hess offered five minutes to speakers for a group, a staff member corrected him: every speaker now gets three minutes.
• The applicant as neighbor. Beck said, "I can't sit and counsel students at the high school and then be the hypocrite that tries to run with this," and offered to talk with any resident.
• A foreign buyer story. The second resident said an energy company tried to buy her land near Camp Williams, and she later learned it was a Chinese company.
• A lighter note. Allen said every mention of "WUI" reminds him of Mater from the movie Cars.
• Water disclosure. Allen cited the new state law requiring data centers to disclose yearly water use, in answer to the Spring Run resident's concern about the confidentiality clause.

About this transcript

The speech-to-text rendered Free as "Freeh" and "Fried," DeCoursey as "DiCorsi," "Carsi" and "Ricorsi," and Fewkes as "Fuchs." "Corgan" and "Corrigan" both refer to Corrigan Farms. "Cory-Ride" and "Corey Wright" likely mean Cory Wride Park. "Grandma" is GRAMA, the state public records law. "RTTI" and "RTA" mean the RTI overlay. "Metta" is Meta. Code numbers such as "162540" and "176040" correspond to sections 16.25.040 and 17.60.040. The transcript never spells out what RTI stands for.

The speaker labels are unreliable. Some votes were recorded under labels that belong to other speakers elsewhere, and one label mixes Jason Hall with other voices. Two people named Jason spoke: Hall, the recreation presenter, and Commissioner Allen. The record does not name who moved or seconded adjournment, and it does not give Marcus's surname, Winterton's title or Evan Barrett's role. The chair first gave the 7.A hearing close as 6:30 and corrected it to 6:38.