As part of the ordinance, the commission also approved the rezone of 550 acres across 32 parcels — located between 12th Street, 4700 West and the Weber River — from A-1 and A-2 agricultural, as well as R1-15 and R-3 residential, to the new TN zone. The commission also approved an associated development agreement for the project, dubbed the Bennet master planned community.

The form-based TN zone utilizes subzones, or transect districts, to gradually increase density from the edges of the development inward.

According to project documents, the outer transects — defined as T1 natural and T2 rural — allow for agriculture and open space. The neighborhood edge (T3) district features low-density residential areas adjacent to denser and mixed-use zones, while the neighborhood general (T4) district is characterized by a “mixed-use but primarily medium residential density urban fabric.”

Rounding out the TN zone are the neighborhood center (T5) subzone — which includes higher-density mixed-use buildings, apartments and townhouses — and special districts consisting of buildings that “cannot, or should not, conform to one or more of the normative transect zones.”

As it stands, the minimum project area required for an initial rezone to the TN zone is slated to be 400 contiguous acres.

The Bennet development is planned as a pedestrian-friendly, “multigenerational community that supports a broad spectrum of housing needs,” including those of senior residents. The development agreement calls for a maximum density of six residential units per acre.

The Western Weber Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the proposed development in June based on staff recommendations, and with a request that the development agreement be amended to require the installation of two pedestrian bridges over the Weber River on the west side.

Those bridges will be constructed, in addition to vehicle bridges at 700 North and 400 South, according to Weber County’s principal planner, Charles Ewert.

Also approved during Tuesday’s meeting was a contract between the county and Grant Morrison for indigent defense in specialty cases — i.e., homicides and first-degree felony sex offenses — raising the hourly rate for attorney’s fees from $125 to $140. Jim Retallick, the director of the Weber Public Defender Group, noted that the previous rate had been in effect since 2018.

In a related move, the commission approved a contract between the county and the Utah Indigent Defense Commission, or IDC, which will see the state provide just over $996,000 in grant funding for indigent defense for the Weber County district and juvenile courts, and the regional forensic social worker office within the public defense office.

Commissioner Jim Harvey opined that the state should go further to reduce the burden on the county and its taxpaying residents, amid efforts to address a widening funding gap for indigent defense.

“We have to see more out of the state, we have to see more,” Harvey said. “We have to have them pay more or we may have to make some drastic decisions come budget time. … All of us, especially, involved in that should be talking to our legislators. They can’t cut that funding. We have to continue to fund those positions and not widen the gap of funding, which falls on the taxpayers.”

Commissioner Gage Froerer agreed, saying, “The pressure has to come from our local legislators that we need more funding through appropriations to make this affordable for the county,” while praising Retallick and the county’s public defenders.

Also approved was a contract between the county and the IDC providing Title IV-E federal funding for allowable administrative costs for attorneys to provide legal representation to parents of children who are candidates for Title IV-E foster care or are Title IV-E eligible and in foster care.

Title IV-E of the U.S. Social Security Act provides federal matching funds to states for certain child welfare programs, with a focus on foster care and adoption assistance.

Other approved action items included:

• The mid-term appointment of Bart Braegger to the Ogden Valley Recreation/Transmission Special Service District.
• The first reading of an ordinance changing the name of Babilis Lane, a private road at 6125 South in unincorporated Weber County, to Spring Creek Lane.
• A resolution approving an amendment to the governing document of Promontory Commerce Center Public Infrastructure District Nos. 1, 2 and 3, amending the annexation area of the districts.
• A contract between the county and TGE Inc., doing business as Gardner Engineering, for the 2550 South Roadway Design Project. The contractor will complete the roadway design and construction bidding documents for 2550 South, between 4300 West and 3500 West, with preliminary design between 4700 West and 4300 West.
• A contract between the county and Scales Unlimited Inc. for the installation of a new general waste outbound ramp at the Weber County Transfer Station. The county will pay just over $109,000 plus shipping fees for the new ramp, plus the removal of the old ramp.

The Weber County Commission meets each Tuesday at the Weber Center. Meetings are viewable online via the county’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@webercountyutah/.