The proposed development, known as Westbridge Meadows, would rezone approximately 1,400 acres of property located within the area south of the Union Pacific Railroad and north of the Ogden Bay Wildlife Management Area, between the Weber River and 7500 West. The proposal includes zones for single-family residential (R1-15, R1-12, R1-10 and R1-5), two-family residential (R2), multifamily residential (R3-A, R3-S), a form-based zone, open space (O-1) and a master-planned development overlay zone (MPDOZ).

The area is currently zoned agricultural (A-3) with a solar energy system overlay zone (SOZ).

Charles Ewert — Weber County’s principal planner — described the proposed development as a 30- to 50-year buildout project, dependent on market factors. The associated development agreement would allow for the construction of up to 13,200 residential dwelling units, yielding an estimated population of just over 38,500, in addition to 1.2 million square feet of commercial floor area.

“(The developer is) hoping to provide an integrated community where you’ve actually got people who live in the same places that commercial opportunities happen,” Ewert said. “We’re finding through various types of advocation for zoning reform on a national level that we’ve kind of been zoning (incorrectly) for the last hundred years. … We are completely separating people and where they live from the services that they rely on.”

Due to the proposed development’s proximity to floodplains, the applicants — Jeff Meads of Fenix Development and Kameron Spencer with Flagship Homes — have committed to addressing flood risks through coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Additionally, the agreement calls for engagement with the Army Corps of Engineers to assess and mitigate potential wetland impacts.

The proposed development would necessitate major road and utility improvements, including to the 12th Street corridor, 1800 South and 2550 South, which the developer would be required to proportionally fund. Among the requisite improvements would be a bridge over the Weber River.

Commissioner Jim Harvey raised a myriad of concerns, including issues of density, traffic impact, senior housing, water supply, open space maintenance, potential taxpayer burden and more. He also questioned the specificity of language in the development agreement related to those issues and other developer requirements.

Commissioner Gage Froerer was the dissenting vote on the tabling motion.

Although Froerer characterized the project as “fairly aggressive,” he also appraised it as forward-looking, noting that the land in the development area is not productive from an agricultural standpoint.

“If we have an opportunity to put development out west, to supply housing for future generations — I’m talking 20, 30, 40, 50 years down the road — and make that housing attainable, this project makes sense to me with certain conditions,” Froerer said.

The Weber County Commission meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Meetings are viewable online via the county’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@webercountyutah/. Meeting agendas, minutes and other information are available on the county’s website at https://www.webercountyutah.gov/County_Commission/.