With 47 people crowded into the Heber City Council chambers, 32 attending online and many more emails on top of that, City Councilor Aaron Cheatwood noted that Jan. 20’s council meeting was the highest level of civic engagement he’d seen since he took office in 2024.
Most attendees had come to oppose Bluestone Townhomes, a high-density housing development proposed by Wasatch County-based developer Garbett Homes on its 3.19-acre lot at 830 E. Center St.
Garbett Homes representative Jacob Ballsteadt had been through several rounds of informal feedback with the City Council since November, originally proposing 40 three-story townhomes. The current zoning allows up to six. The number has since been whittled down to 26 two-story townhomes, or over eight townhomes per acre, but Garbett Homes needs the city to approve the zoning change first.
“We did not bring bullhorns or pitchforks. At least, we left those in the cars for now,” joked Heber City resident Ben Atwood, the first of nearly 20 public commenters.
He was concerned that a “zoning island” created by Bluestone Townhomes would create downtown density in a residential neighborhood and result in ripple effects impacting surrounding homeowners. The foremost of these was parking.
Several public commenters insisted that the development’s 26, two-car garages (one per townhome), eight driveways and 12 guest parking spaces would not be enough to accommodate residents and guests, creating parking overflow onto Center Street.
City Councilor Yvonne Barney agreed.
“I go to my daughter’s home, and it’s not just celebrating our grandchild’s birthday with one car. We have literally six cars in front,” she said.
First responders in the audience weighed in on the potential public safety issues created by the development’s single street access in and out of the property.
“Driving a fire truck professionally, there’s no way you’re going to get more than one truck down that street. You’re never going to get them to be able to turn around,” said former firefighter Nick López.
Meanwhile, Gabe Gubler, a former Heber City public works employee, said he used to drive his public utilities truck home so he could be on-call. He didn’t think Bluestone Townhomes’ parking could accommodate a vehicle like that, which he found ironic because City Councilor Sid Ostergaard had praised the development for its potential to provide housing for first responders.
Each unit was priced around $500,000, with an owner-occupancy deed restriction intended to support entry-level homeownership.
But Heber City resident Thomas Johnson, an entry-level homeowner, thought that he could not afford a townhome at that price.
“Many of the co-workers that I work with and many of my friends have been finding housing elsewhere, anywhere that’s not Heber,” he said. “I do not believe in any way, shape or form that this housing will be good for any young adult or, really, anyone at all in Heber. It’s not affordable. It’s not livable. And it’s not very spacious at all.”
All City Council members agreed the price point did not fall in the bracket of affordable housing. Ballsteadt’s original 40 townhomes would have included five units priced between $470,000 and $485,000 in order to be affordable to those making 80% AMI, which is $109,120 for a family of four in Wasatch County. These 26 townhomes would not include any affordable units.
Several asked that Garbett Homes reduce the number of units, which Ballsteadt was agreeable to. Cheatwood suggested that the development might make sense as fewer, more expensive homes.
But Ostergaard pushed back. He argued that Bluestone Townhomes met Heber City’s need to provide a “missing middle.” He asked if not this project, then where would Heber City create housing for its police department, public works and parks employees?
“I know, Sid, it is very important that we find something. But this doesn’t fit that ‘finding something,’” Barney replied. “We do not fudge, if you will, just because we’re so desperate for something and try and stick and pound that square peg into that round hole.”
Although Garbett Homes will have to go back to the drawing board, several council members complimented Ballsteadt for his respectful dialogue and incorporation of feedback from the council over the past three months of negotiations.
“I feel respected and listened to,” Cheatwood said. “I don’t always feel that from a developer.”