Transit-oriented districts, or TODs, are a newer concept to north Utah County residents, but Lehi and American Fork have been preparing for them for years.

American Fork TOD

American Fork has a large TOD overlay zone set aside — centered on the American Fork FrontRunner train station along 200 South. Mayor Brad Frost explained that the city envisions mixed-use higher density housing, retail and Class A office space closest to the FrontRunner station. Development that is further out will have lower density, all the way out to single-family homes on the edges of the district.

The idea for the TOD zone has been percolating for four years, Frost said, and American Fork partnered with Utah Transit Authority and a consultant to put a plan in place for the area two years ago.

“It’s kind of the template, but it’s flexible,” Frost said by phone Friday. “We want to get it right the first time and we want to make the best TOD in the state of Utah. I mean that. I really do.”

The TOD plans include a trail system running through the area, which Frost hopes will encourage people to bike to and from transit options. Frost is excited because the city recently received a grant to enhance the city’s trail system, and will be able to use those funds to create this system. It will run from Center Street across 200 South, running right by the FrontRunner and connecting to Mill Pond Road. Construction on this will start next year.

Frost said several people have expressed interest in building their corporate headquarters near the FrontRunner. Other developers have approached the city to discuss mixed-use concepts, but no developers have approached the city with a specific set plan, so “right now it’s still an open field.” Despite this, he expects to see ground broken soon.

“I fully expect to see some movement in the core region, that area closest to FrontRunner, by the end of this year or spring 2019,” Frost said.

While much of the land in the planned TOD area is still agricultural, land prices have risen significantly — prompting some former farmers to sell their property to developers. The city respects those who do not sell their family farm land, Frost said, and there are no plans to make them sell.

Lehi TOD

Plans outlining Lehi’s TOD zones were adopted in 2015. There have been amendments over the years, with the most recent amendment just a few months ago. Mike West, a planner with Lehi, said this latest update aligned the city’s plans with potential TRAX light-rail station locations. The TOD zones align with five of the six future TRAX stations.

“One of the reasons we placed TOD overlays along the future TRAX line is to provide land uses that generate enough ridership that would support a light-rail line. UTA would only build a light-rail line if it is justified with enough ridership,” West said Friday.

Some of these small zones are on undeveloped land or in areas of older industrial usage, which could be redeveloped into a TOD. A few areas have existing developed residential areas that would limit how large the TOD could be in that section.

Lehi Councilman Chris Condie said the city put this plan in place in preparation for development.

“We put together a plan for what we’re looking for, to give direction to developers who might want to come in,” he said. “We initiated the planning to show UTA we’re moving forward and to show where we’d like to have stops.”

Though an obvious choice for a potential TOD, the area located around the FrontRunner station is currently not designated for it. The site is controlled by the Thanksgiving Point area plan which governs land uses for that area, West said. In order to allow a TOD in Thanksgiving Point, the area plan would have to be amended through a public process and approval by the council.

Lehi is one of the fastest growing cities in the state, and residents experience growing pains there on a daily basis. Lehi’s planners and City Council have fielded lots of complaints lately about the speed of growth in the city, but Condie said the city’s staff planned for the growth previously, “so we are able to process it as it is right now.” Growth that complies with city zoning and ordinances cannot be turned away.

“If done under the right zoning and ordinances, we’re not allowed to say no,” Condie explained.