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Orem City Council candidates participate in a debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Jenn Gale, a candidate for Orem City Council, holds up a flyer from the Stand for Orem PAC during a debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Spencer Rands, a candidate for Orem City Council, speaks during a debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Students and Orem residents watch the Orem City Council candidate debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Crystal Muhlestein, a candidate for Orem City Council, speaks during a debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Jeff Lambson, an Orem City Council member and candidate, speaks during a debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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Jenn Gale, a candidate for Orem City Council, speaks during a debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023

Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald

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As mail-in ballots are set to go out next week, Orem City Council candidates sat in the Vallejo Auditorium at Utah Valley University on Wednesday night, discussing growth, affordable housing and traffic.

Closing statements were a notable portion of the debate as three candidates, Chris Killpack, Jenn Gale and Jeff Lambson, used part of their statements to address a flyer distributed by a local political group, Stand for Orem PAC.

During her closing statement, Gale held up a printout of the flyer in question, saying the PAC was claiming that she, Killpack and Lambson supported high-density housing and that they wanted to “widen every street” in Orem.

“This is fear-mongering at its finest,” Gale told the debate attendees. “It’s half-truths, it’s misinformation and some of it is outright lies.”

Part of the flyer addresses high-density housing and claims that several people, whom the PAC alleges support high-density housing, have endorsed or donated to Killpack, Gale and Lambson.

The flyer also says Lambson recommended bus rapid transit on State Street to the City Council. The new master transportation packet contains a November 2022 letter from the transportation advisory committee, which Lambson sat on, recommending BRT service.

“If the BRT goes in, state law goes into effect = high-density apartments required & widening roads to meet extra traffic needs,” the flyer reads.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Stand for Orem says while Lambson supported a moratorium on the State Street Master Plan, which would have brought more multifamily units, he supported BRT, which could lead to more apartment buildings under state law.

The statement references legislation passed in 2021 that allowed for new housing zones around public transit hubs to increase density and tax revenue. The law was amended this year and added the new housing zones could be created around BRT stations if BRT routes were adopted into the municipality’s long-range transportation plan, according to the Wasatch Front Regional Council.

The second page of the flyer includes a map of Orem with some roads in red with the claim that they would be widened. It adds that Mayor Dave Young and the City Council stopped some widening projects, which was a discussion in two recent council meetings as they approved the updated master transportation plan. Future plans for BRT were also removed from the master plan.

In the Stand for Orem’s statement, it said the candidate’s claims during the debate were “unequivocally inaccurate.”

“Nowhere in our materials have we stated that these candidates endorse high-density apartments, although they have expressed openness to evaluate individual projects,” the statement read. “However, it is crucial to note that individuals endorsing and financially supporting these candidates have advocated for high-density apartments and were architects of the original State Street Master plan, which proposed adding 10,000 apartments on State Street.”

Candidates Spencer Rands, Crystal Muhlestein and Matt McKell have been endorsed by Stand for Orem, while Lambson, Gale and Killpack have been endorsed by Stronger Orem, another local political action committee.

In Lambson’s closing statement, he called for Rands, Muhlestein and McKell to “disavow” themselves from Stand for Orem.

“I think if we can commit to do things in an honest and transparent and civil way, I think that’s better for our city and for our community,” he said.

During rebuttal, Rands and Muhlestein stated they had no hand in creating the flyer. McKell shared that all candidates have had things said about them that were inaccurate.

“We can all get thicker skin, I think,” McKell said. “And we can all stop associating certain candidates with certain groups that create flyers or say things that we know nothing about, because it happens to both sides.”

Karen Adamson, a primary officer for Stand for Orem, said the PAC is not affiliated with any candidates and they are residents who do “a ton of” research and share their findings with the public.

“We know lots of people can’t do the research, so we want to help them get access to as much information as possible, as quickly as possible,” she said in a text message to the Daily Herald. “We work hard to be sure that can we can show evidence of what we say.”

Managing growth and traffic

The debate focused on questions about continued growth in the area and how to improve transportation and housing affordability in Orem.

Regarding growth, Killpack stated the city needed to carefully plan growth through prioritization so the city could meet the needs of its current residents while still planning for the future.

“Also, looking for future growth that can accommodate those wonderful individuals and families to maintain that atmosphere of kindness, of inclusivity, of that family feeling where everyone in the city is part of the family of Orem City,” he said.

Muhlestein said while growth is important, we need to be able to support the families and businesses that are already here as well as the already developed infrastructure in the city.

“So we need to make sure we’re supporting those communities and neighborhoods and making sure that however we grow, it doesn’t take away from the heart of our city what brought people here in the first place,” she said.

McKell cautioned against too much growth, saying for each project and proposal for development, there needs to be consideration about how that would impact the community.

“Orem is at a crossroads and if we let it grow too much, or if we say yes to everything, it’s going to turn into a city that we don’t recognize,” he said.

Lambson noted that “growth is our reality” and the key is how we manage the growth, saying he wants a “slow, methodical approach.”

“What’s important for us as a community is to make sure that you’re involved and your voices heard and that your vision is also heard in the process,” he said.

He also said smart planning was needed for transportation to ensure there is room for traffic and plans to create good traffic flow.

Rands pointed out that the growth of neighboring cities like Provo and Vineyard also impacts Orem, so cities need to work together. He also said Orem’s infrastructure, like water, is already established and mature compared to newer cities like Eagle Mountain, which can create roadblocks when developing.

“If we don’t have the proper infrastructure for a particular development, then we’re going to have to turn it down,” he said.

In speaking about traffic issues, McKell expressed concern about some of the issues coming from traffic headed from or into Provo and that there needs to be collaboration with other cities.

Gale said it’s important to “grow smart,” and even if Orem doesn’t grow at all, growth in cities like Vineyard will spill over.

“We are not going to be able to move forward well unless we can talk about these issues in real ways, and we can collaborate and work together to solve these problems,” she said.

To address traffic issues, Gale supported collaborating with surrounding communities, the Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Transit Authority in creating transportation proposals to plan well into the future.

“We have two choices,” she said. “We can do nothing, or we can plan for it.”

Housing affordability

One question was about Orem receiving a noncompliance letter in failure to meet a state requirement to provide a yearly affordable housing plan.

Lambson, who currently is on the City Council, said the city is working on submitting an improved plan and added he believes the state wanted to see more high-density housing.

In an email statement to the Daily Herald, Pete Wolfley, communications manager for Orem, said the city was one of 60 in Utah to receive a letter of noncompliance from the state and the letter “stemmed from a misunderstanding with state officials about the total number of strategies required to satisfy the requirements of the plan.”

“The city promptly adjusted the Moderate Housing Plan and has been in compliance ever since,” he added.

Candidates were also asked how they could improve housing affordability in the city, particularly for students.

Muhlestein said there should be work with UVU and developers to help students, and McKell noted the success with recent apartment buildings being placed near the university.

“Sometimes people will say, well, I’m against 100% of high-density housing, but I think there is certain areas, and it makes sense in certain areas like by a university,” McKell said.

Lambson said he supports “smart, reasonable development” where it makes sense and development should be directed away from where it doesn’t make sense, such as neighborhoods. He also said he believes more accessory dwelling units would be a good idea, something McKell also said he was in favor of.

Gale also talked about development in places that “make sense” for both the city and students, such as housing near the university.

Rands said he believes UVU needs to create its own student housing to help reduce costs for students, as they wouldn’t have to compete with the rest of the market.

Mail-in ballots will be sent out on Tuesday and Orem residents will get to vote for three out of the six City Council candidates, with the top three getting seats on the council.

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