Developer asks council to cut TOD retail requirement; council split as $25 million 200 South plan hinges on CRA
September 21, 2021, 4:00 p.m. · City Administration Office Conference Room, 51 E. Main St.
Crescent Communities asked American Fork to require ground-floor retail only on major streets in the transit-oriented development's core, which would cut retail in its planned 370-unit project from about 19,000 to 10,000 square feet. City Administrator David Bunker warned that dropping commercial space would undermine the community reinvestment area meant to fund roughly $25 million in 200 South improvements; council members split, with Councilmember Rob Shelton favoring flex space and calling the CRA 'a hope and a dream.' A Hales Engineering study found added downtown density would push Main Street traffic past a five-lane road's capacity.
From the approved minutes.
Decisions at a glance
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Downtown traffic flow study | Discussed |
| TOD ground-floor commercial requirement | Discussed |
Agenda, item by item
Item 2 · Roads and utilities
Downtown traffic flow study
Discussed
Ryan Hales and Josh Gibbons of Hales Engineering modeled traffic from increased CC-1 density downtown. Main Street now carries about 28,000 vehicles a day against a five-lane threshold of 32,800; added density would raise it to about 34,900. UDOT plans to widen 100 East to five lanes by 2030. Public Works Director Scott Sensanbaugher said early talks with the railroad, UDOT and UTA about removing tracks at 100 East and Pacific Drive were positive. Council members discussed pressing UDOT to keep State Street five lanes and Canal Boulevard signal timing.
- Consultant: Hales Engineering
- Main Street ADT: about 28,000 now, 34,900 projected
Item 3 · City code
TOD ground-floor commercial requirement
Discussed
Bunker reviewed the 2018 TOD zone (about 500 acres, 15,000-20,000 future residents) and the 2020 rule requiring 25% ground-floor commercial on transit-core streets (100% on 200 South), noting the first project, Castlewood, built no commercial. Infrastructure for 200 South would cost about $25 million and a CRA modeled by Lewis Young Robertson & Burningham depends on mixed use; the consultant suggested a commercial enhancement fee option. Crescent Communities (Makay Quinn, Mike Hathorne) proposed limiting the 25% to collector streets, giving 10,000 instead of about 19,000 square feet for 370 units, citing a Zions Public Finance figure of 15 square feet per resident. Councilmembers Hunter, Barnes and Taylor objected to halving retail; Shelton favored flex space and said the CRA had been discussed for six years without school district commitment. Mayor Frost said Crescent had pushed staff before annexing. No direction was settled; a further session was requested.
- Developer: Crescent Communities
- Proposed project: 370 units, 10,000 sq ft retail
- 200 South/TOD infrastructure: about $25 million
- Financial advisor: Lewis Young Robertson & Burningham (Jason Burningham)