Eagle Mountain City Council, 20 October 2026

In short: The council approved a rezone for Corrigan Farms, 41 acres in the south of the city set aside for data centers. It also approved a 10-year development agreement for the land, with Rich Wood voting no. A request from neighbors to buy a strip of city open space behind their homes was put on hold until an advisory board plans all such strips. A wildfire landscaping rule passed without objection.

Present: Mayor Jared Gray; Councilmembers Melissa Clark, Brett Wright, Craig Whiting, Rich Wood and Zac Huish. No member was excused. City Manager Ben Reeves and Assistant City Manager Steve Mumford joined online from a conference.

Staff: Brad Hickman (acting city manager), Marcus Draper (city attorney), Kiara (staff, mortgage assistance program), Evan Berrett (planner, alternative energy overlay zone), Max (staff, wells and water system), David Stroud (senior planner), Lacie Messerly (city recorder), Elizabeth Fewkes (long range planner), John Magnus (management and policy analyst, legislative priorities), and Lyman and Dee Gifford (community chaplains).

Decisions

#	Agenda ref	Motion	Moved / Seconded	Vote	Result
1	4	Adjourn to a closed session	Whiting / Wood	5-0	Passed
2	10–13	Approve the consent agenda except items 10B, 10C and 10D	Wright / Clark	5-0	Passed
3	10B–10D	Approve the three Firefly bond releases (Wright abstained, citing a rental home he owns in Firefly)	Clark / Whiting	4-0	Passed
4	14.A	Rezone Corrigan Farms to add the research and technology overlay	Wright / Huish	5-0	Passed
5	14.B	Approve the Corrigan Farms development agreement	Wright / Clark	4-1 (Wood no)	Passed
6	15.A	Table the land disposal request and direct the Community Services Board to review all open space running between homes	Wood / Whiting	5-0	Passed
7	16.A	Approve the wildland urban interface code changes	Whiting / Huish	5-0	Passed
8	20	Adjourn	Wright / Huish	Voice vote	Passed

Settled without a vote:

• Members told staff to bring back projections for the housing fund that pays for the mortgage assistance program, covering the next year or two, before any new spending ideas. Most favored a lottery for the third tier of applicants, weighted toward lower incomes, over ranking applicants by profession.
• Wood asked staff to "go to the tape" and add every suggestion made on the energy overlay zone. Wright asked that it come back soon. It goes to the Planning Commission first.
• The mayor set a special meeting with Hales Engineering on the speed study for Tuesday, November 10 at 5 PM at the Public Works building. The city attorney said a special meeting only needs a public notice, not a council vote.
• Staff will bring a resolution to the next meeting renaming the wildlife corridor for Todd Black. The corridor map will be updated later through the Planning Commission.
• Wright asked the city attorney to change the land disposal code so that requests involving existing open space arrive with a Community Services Board recommendation. The attorney agreed it made sense for open space.
• Clark asked that Planning Commission staff reports explain why the council made past decisions. A staff member said they would work on it.

Meeting map

Agenda ref	Topic	~Start (elapsed)	One-line note
1.A	Mortgage assistance program funding and priorities	0:01	Applications far outrun the money; members want projections and lean toward a lottery
1.B	Alternative energy overlay zone revisions	0:15	Council keeps the final site-plan approval; steam-venting geothermal to be dropped
1.C	Corrigan Farms development agreement	0:55	Revisions accepted; Wood restates his objection
2	City manager information items	1:00	Sewer plant cleared to break ground; sidewalk, water tank and well updates
3	Agenda review	1:05	Wright flags a conflict; well change order cost has come down
Off agenda	Scheduling the speed study meeting	1:12	November 10, 5 PM, Public Works building
4	Adjourn to closed session	1:15	Approved 5-0 at 5:17 PM
5–6	Prayer, call to order, pledge	1:18	Called to order at 7:04 PM
7	Upcoming events	1:20	Leaf bags, groundbreaking, election, meeting moved to Wednesday
13.A	Chaplains introduce themselves	1:24	Interfaith chaplains describe their training
8	Public comments	1:27	Two written comments read; no one spoke
9	Council and mayor comments	1:28	Voting reminder, thanks to staff, open space
10–13	Consent agenda	1:41	Two motions to work around Wright's conflict
14.A	Corrigan Farms rezone	1:43	Power plant language clarified; passed 5-0
14.B	Corrigan Farms development agreement	1:48	Changes recapped; passed 4-1
15.A	Land disposal in Eagle Park Phase 1	1:55	Long debate; tabled pending a citywide open space review
16.A	Wildland urban interface code changes	2:28	Public hearing at 8:18 PM, no speakers; passed 5-0
17.A	Legislative priorities	2:36	Wildlife corridor rename by resolution next meeting
18	Council and mayor business, liaison reports	2:39	Chili cook-off, regional roads, tax-rate split
19	Communication items	2:46	Covered earlier in the evening
20	Adjournment	2:47	Adjourned at 8:32 PM

Discussed but NOT on the agenda: scheduling the speed study meeting; Wright's proposed change to the land disposal code; Huish's meeting on separate tax rates for homes and businesses; the mayor's work to get funding for the Wildflower road connection.

On agenda but little/no discussion: bond releases 10A to 10G; the traffic signal change orders (11B); the three sets of minutes (12A to 12C); resolutions 13B, 13C and 13D; the financial report and upcoming agenda items (19A, 19B).

What was discussed

1.A — Mortgage assistance program: funding and priorities

The city's mortgage assistance program gives grants to help people buy homes in Eagle Mountain. Staff member Kiara reported that applications rose by about 139% over the last fiscal year: 281 in all, 200 of them in the second half. The program can fund about one to three grants a month. Applicants who miss out can roll over for up to three months. About half the grants go to the third tier, the general public, and the rest to the first two tiers. Military applicants are in the second tier. Within the third tier, grants go first come, first served, with lower area median income (AMI) breaking ties. She said the fund started the year with about $1.2 million, had paid out about $350,000, and had about $840,000 left. At that pace it would run out within the year.

Huish said first come, first served seemed fine and warned that "government programs can just get more and more complicated." Clark asked whether the three-month rollover limit could be lengthened. She also raised a grant for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) rented at affordable rates, and asked for projections of what the fund will hold once large new projects reach the tax rolls. The mayor said firefighters with the Unified Fire Authority were applying in numbers and asked whether the city should put more money into the program. Wright asked whether money already promised for water for affordable housing at Scarlet Ridge had been taken out of the fund. Kiara said it had not.

Wright said spending the year's allocation was the point, but he wanted reserves and future-year figures first. He proposed a lottery for the third tier, weighted by income: one entry at 120% of AMI, rising by half an entry per step to three entries at 80%. Clark backed a lottery and opposed ranking by profession. Whiting called the program "the most successful program in the entire state." He would accept either AMI order or a lottery weighted toward lower incomes, and preferred putting money into the program over ADU grants. Asked whether the fund could take earmarked donations, Draper said "it depends," but "generally speaking, yes."

1.B — Alternative energy overlay zone revisions

Evan brought back changes to the zone that governs power generation, based on council feedback when the zone was adopted. The draft now separates it from the research and technology overlay. It lists preferred nuclear technologies and lets the council review others on request. It says small modular reactor sites may not be used for long-term storage of waste. It removes a waiver that could skip the water use assessment. It moves fencing and setback waivers from the staff Development Review Committee to the council, and adds a decommissioning bond for natural gas plants. Wood asked for a waste removal plan rather than an open-ended storage period. He said removal should take "months, right? But not years."

Evan flagged one change for debate: making the council, not staff, the final approver of the site plan. By that stage, he said, companies "have now spent millions, if not dozens of millions of dollars," and the chance of a late denial could drive them away. Huish and Wood both wanted the council to keep that final say. Wood said, "if I could put an exclamation point, that is the point." Wright suggested requiring the rezone, the development agreement and a near-final site plan to come as one package, so the council sees the whole project before granting anything. Wood agreed and added that there should be "no overlay without a development agreement."

Whiting asked to remove dry steam and flash steam geothermal, which use more water and vent steam clouds, and keep binary and enhanced systems. He wanted the same limit on gas-cooled reactors. Wright pressed him on whether the worry was water or looks. Whiting said both. Clark relayed residents' fears about relying on federal air standards. Evan said the valley is "right up against the line" on air quality and the state reviews air permits. Wright read the new rule requiring air dispersion modeling. Wood wanted proof of air quality credits early, saying the council had once approved a company that claimed to have credits and did not. Huish called natural gas "the data center playbook." The zone caps gas power at 2 gigawatts. Wright noted the Lindon plant is about 1.2 gigawatts, and that the ENYO Energy project just south of the city plans about 3 gigawatts at full build-out.

1.C — Corrigan Farms development agreement

Draper summarized his changes since the October 6 meeting. All energy production was removed from the agreement and must come through its own application. The landowner must pay operating and upkeep costs for any sewer lift station it connects to, a point Wright had raised. Overhead power lines are no longer an allowed use, and the term is now 10 years. Wright thanked him. Whiting, Huish and Clark had no questions. Wood said his stance had not changed. He was "not warm and fuzzy about creating a decade worth of entitlements without the project beginning," wanted a firmer penalty if work does not start within the three years the agreement allows, and expected to be outvoted.

2 — City manager information items

Hickman, filling in for the city manager, said meetings with the state now allow the city to start building the sewer treatment plant, though "other hurdles" remain. A groundbreaking was set for Friday at 10 AM. Crews finished widening the sidewalk on Golden Eagle Road near the school from 4 to 8 feet, matching the other side of the road. Work on the Scarlet water tank lid will need one continuous concrete pour, which may run at night, but that is more than two weeks out. The White Hills well, which serves clean spring water, will start being chlorinated so it can join the city system. Residents there may notice a smell or taste. Max added that "if you have a very refined palate, you might be able to notice a taste."

3 — Agenda review

Wright asked that the three Firefly bond releases be voted on apart from the rest because of a conflict of interest. Max said the change order for drilling Airport Well 9 reflects a project that ran past a year, higher fuel and material costs, and repeated cave-ins needing extra gravel pack. He said the final figure had come down from the one in the council packet. Draper said the encroachment license is for a sign at the project across Porter's Crossing from the Ridley's center, which the council had already received well. The reimbursement agreement with Will-Power covers expanding the lift station near Meta so Williams can connect. No one asked about the solar reinvestment area agreement.

13.A — Community chaplains

Before public comment, the mayor introduced Lyman and Dee Gifford, who will serve as the city's community chaplains. Lyman Gifford said they are interfaith and Latter-day Saint chaplains trained through the Rocky Mountain Chaplains Association and a FEMA disaster course in psychological first aid. They have been asked to be on call for disasters elsewhere. Draper said it was fine to post their contact information on the city website. The mayor noted they can help residents with no particular faith.

9 — Council and mayor comments

Clark urged residents to vote, warning that elections without a statewide race draw "way, way, way, way less voter turnout." Wright, in his fifth year on the council after four on the Planning Commission, said members disagree often in private and called those phone calls "pretty rowdy." Whiting described the youth council event at his home. Wood said residents' reports shape priorities and asked people to call him rather than argue on social media. Huish said every dollar of city property tax now goes to public safety, called the sewer project a couple hundred million dollars, and named keeping open space as his priority. The mayor thanked staff and contract partners.

14.A — Corrigan Farms rezone

Stroud showed the 41-acre parcel next to the QTS data center property. Land to the north, east and south is already in the research and technology overlay. Draper corrected the land to the west to Fairfield town. The council had held the public hearing on October 6, and the Planning Commission recommended approval. Whiting noted that the staff report still mentioned a natural gas power plant. Draper said power plants are not a permitted use in this overlay and the owners gain no rights to one. Clark called the overlay "very prescriptive," with set building sizes, job counts and limits on fumes and smells.

14.B — Corrigan Farms development agreement

Draper repeated the changes: the land is limited to data center use, energy is deferred to a separate application, the term is 10 years, lift station costs fall on the owner, and overhead power lines are removed. Whiting told the audience the quick votes reflected long debate two weeks earlier. Huish said Rocky Mountain Power is mostly at capacity for large industrial users, so power may return later through the energy zone. Wood said he is "not against data centers" and supports property rights. He still would not sign a development agreement without a specific data center user, saying such deals let land sit for years under entitlements that are "far outdated" by the time they are used.

15.A — Land disposal in Eagle Park Phase 1

Neighbors asked to buy about 0.85 acres of city open space behind their homes, where a trail runs through a wide dirt strip. City Recorder Lacie Messerly said staff is neutral. All but one neighbor signed, and a neighbor offered to buy that share. Draper said the vote would only start the sale process. A sale agreement and a public hearing would still be needed. The applicant, a resident, said a side strip was to clear up an old fence encroachment and could be dropped. Wood asked whether buyers had been offered a deferred payment due when the house sells. Draper said it was too early for that.

Whiting asked what the city plans for the corridor and wanted the Community Services Board to study it. Huish was open to selling at fair market value. Hickman said no plan had ever covered this area, some fences sit past lot lines, and the city will not irrigate turf there. Clark favored selling and putting the money into the remaining trail. The mayor, who does not vote, said past sales gave 7 to 20 feet while this asks for about 40. He was against selling open space before a plan exists and suggested 20 feet on each side.

Wood called that "an arbitrary argument." He asked "how many times are we going to have this discussion and do nothing?" and pointed to fire hazards and thistles behind homes. Whiting worried about fairness to neighbors who already bought less, and said the sale money would be small. Hickman said trail connectivity should be the first test for any disposal. Huish agreed to send it to the board first. Wood then moved to table the item and widened the review to every open space strip between homes in the city. The mayor said the board meets monthly, so it will take a couple of months. He noted that land designated "insignificant" can be sold without a public hearing.

16.A — Wildland urban interface code changes

Fewkes explained the changes. State law now lets residents remove landscaping to create defensible space in the wildland urban interface, the areas at higher wildfire risk next to open land. Final plats will note when lots fall in that zone. Staff will also flag such applications for the council and the Planning Commission through a checkbox in its permit software. The council had preferred case-by-case review to a citywide rule. Wright confirmed the Planning Commission would be notified. The Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously. No one spoke at the public hearing.

17.A — Legislative priorities

John Magnus offered two ways to rename the wildlife corridor for the late Todd Black: by resolution now, or along with a revised corridor map that must go through the Planning Commission. Hickman said the new map narrows the corridor to its main route through the Ochre Ranch area and should affect residents' property less. Wright recommended doing the rename by resolution right away, and staff will bring it to the next meeting. Magnus said a water audit is under way and a presentation will follow.

18 — Council and mayor business and liaison reports

Wright asked who would attend the seniors' chili cook-off. He had missed a regional cities meeting and said he would follow up. Clark praised the Community Services Board's work and asked for more background in Planning Commission staff reports. Whiting reported on the chamber retreat and the youth council's booth at Halloween Town. The mayor said Ranches Parkway won regional funding but the Wildflower connection did not, and he is working on a way to fund it "at no cost to us, all by MAG funds." MAG is the Mountainland Association of Governments. Huish said a meeting with a state representative and a state tax official confirmed that taxing businesses and homes at different rates would take a change to the state constitution.

Notable moments

• Wood against the mayor on open space. Wood called the mayor's comparison to earlier land sales "an arbitrary argument." He said the council had debated these strips four or five times in his two and a half years without acting.
• Clark changes sides. Clark called the strip "a poor excuse for a park" and said, "I'm turning into Rich Wood right now."
• The mayor teases Huish. The mayor pointed out that Huish had opened the meeting by naming open space as his priority and was now open to selling some. Huish replied that the corridor has plenty of open space.
• Steam as an image problem. Whiting wanted no steam-venting plants so the valley does not look like "an industrial complex." Wood agreed that people will assume anything rising from a stack is pollution.
• A company that didn't have its credits. Wood said the council once approved a company that said it was getting air quality credits and did not have them. He declined to say who it was.
• Written comments, no speakers. The recorder read two written public comments from residents who were not present. One asked for a swimming pool behind Anytime Fitness and one concerned the Golden Eagle sidewalk widening.
• Next meeting moves. Because Election Day falls on Tuesday, November 3, the next regular meeting moves to Wednesday, November 4, with the work session at 4 PM and the policy session at 7 PM.
• Chili cook-off challenge. Wright vowed to win the first seniors' chili cook-off and conceded his wife would do the cooking.

About this transcript

The speech-to-text software wrote Huish as "Hewish" and "Herish," Corrigan as "Corgan," Lindon as "Lyndon," and Fewkes as "Fuchs." Kiara's name appears as both "Kyra" and "Kiara," and the spelling is not confirmed. The state representative's name ("Griechus," "Grecious") is uncertain, so it is not given here. "Cory B. Ryde Memorial Park" is taken to be Cory B. Wride Memorial Park. "ULCC" is likely the Utah League of Cities and Towns.

Speaker labels drift during roll calls. Several "yes" votes and Wood's "no" on the development agreement carry the wrong speaker label, so votes here follow the names the mayor called. Some staff remarks during agenda review carry Wright's label. The opening fund total was cut off at "$1.2" and is read as $1.2 million from later remarks. The grant amounts for second-tier applicants are garbled. The youth event date was given as both October 27 and October 22. The closed session was not recorded, and elapsed times are estimates.