By Justin Adams | [email protected]

Over the last two months, Edge Homes has hosted two neighborhood meetings at Herriman City Hall to present its plans to develop a 125-acre community in Herriman on the land located to the north and east of the newly constructed Mountain Ridge High School. 

Early plans for the development include a mix of single-family homes, townhomes and condos, though nothing is set in stone at this point. 

The idea behind the neighborhood meetings is for the developer to meet directly with residents to hear their concerns, and in some cases, make adjustments to the project based on those concerns. 

Between the first and second meetings, some changes were made to the plan that attendees approved of, but no adjustments were made to residents’ No. 1 concern: density.

Residents voiced concerns over the addition of so many units to the area and what the additional population would mean for an already congested commute for many who live in the southwest corner of the valley.

Steve Maddox, owner of Edge Homes, said the current owners of the land, Suburban Land Reserve, the corporate real estate arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wants the land to be developed into more affordable housing types, such as townhomes and condominiums.

“The charge we’ve been given is to have a diversity of product, to provide housing to a demographic that’s not in a certain price range,” Maddox said. “That’s what their challenge was to us. They will have to approve the site plans and the density that we’re presenting to you tonight.” 

Maddox said there’s a waiting list of people that want to live in Herriman. Despite all the new housing development that’s taking place, there’s just not enough units for everyone that wants to live there, or not enough affordable units. 

“There are people in the room tonight who have an opposing viewpoint, which is they grew up here, and they’d like to own a home in Herriman, and we can’t afford any of the homes that are in this community,” he said.

One Herriman resident said that was the case for her family with five kids who want to remain close to home as they grow up.

“That’s my priority,” she said. “I’ve got five kids growing up; where are they going to live?” 

Another resident suggested that it might not be such a bad thing if living in Herriman were more exclusive.

“Sometimes you have to do some due diligence before you can live where you want to live,” they said. 

The project is in the beginning stages of its approval process with city leaders, so interested residents can follow its progress by attending planning commission and city council meetings. Plus, you can follow the South Valley Journal on Facebook for further updates, where this neighborhood was live-streamed if readers would like to view it in its entirety.