LDS Church has a very BIG problem, they don't have enough parking stalls for their NEW MASSIVE 135,000 SQUARE FEET OFFICE COMPLEX. What are they going to do?

Excuse me, but why was there no mention of a Family Search and Discovery Center in the latest Thanksgiving Point Office Site Approval? 

Thanksgiving Point Office Site Approval presented to the city of Lehi, March 24, 2016

Wasn’t the reason the LDS Church was donated the property (with a minimal investment, not disclosed) was to build a Family Search and Discovery Center? 

Why wasn’t the Family Search and Discovery Center mentioned in the latest application for approval?

Are they still going to incorporate in the massive 4 story 135,000 square feet office building a Family Search and Discovery Center?  Don’t know, they didn’t mention that.

So who really is going be the tenant or who are the tenants who will occupy the massive 4 story commercial office building?

From all I have heard, the LDS Church will be the single tenant of this building. Maybe the LDS Church would like to share who will occupy this office building? 

The release of this information makes a HUGE difference.

You see, the LDS Church is building this proposed massive 4 story 135,000 square feet office complex on a PGA caliber driving range.  If the LDS Church is the tenant of this building, is the LDS Church leasing this building from itself?

The LDS Church is quite open with their proclamation that they do not use debt to finance the real estate arm of the church, everything they build is done with cash (not literally, no debt).

So one arm of the LDS Church, probably some subsidiary will build the proposed massive 4 story office complex and lease it to another arm of the LDS Church or do they?  Is money actually exchanged?  Does the one arm of the church actually lease the building to another arm of the church?  Well isn’t it all the same thing, money shifting from one pile to another pile all owned by the LDS Church, they own both piles of money?

Can the LDS Church build a building and lease it to itself?  I believe the answer to this is yes.  But, will money actually be transferred between one or more LDS Church entities? Or, will the accountants merely create paperwork that shows one arm of the LDS Church paying another arm of the LDS Church?

Does it even matter?

Well, yes it does.

The LDS Church threw out a random, undefined, unsubstantiated square footage figure of 98,400 square feet for the purpose of calculating the number of required parking stalls for their proposed massive 4 story office complex. Architects and engineers have indicated the building square footage to be 135, 000 square feet, so why is the LDS Church using a figure of 98,400 square feet for the purpose of calculating the parking stall requirements?  NOBODY KNOWS!

I can hear LDS Church and Lehi DRC employees sitting in a meeting discussing this very issue.   

Lehi: So, you are going to need 608 parking stalls for your massive 4 story commercial office building and you have only 497 stalls and no parking for the proposed LDS Stake Center, what are we going to do?

Church:  I know, let’s say the building has only 98,400 square feet for the purpose of calculating parking stall requirements, that way we will only need 443 parking stalls. 

Lehi: Yeah but, isn’t the building 135,000 square feet and there is a different requirement for the Family Search and Discover Center.   

Church:  SOOOOOOO, doesn’t matter, just say the building is 98,400 square feet and we will come up with some concocted story about gross square feet, gross leasable square feet, net square feet and everyone will be so confused they won’t say a thing.  Those planning commission guys don’t know a thing and trust everything you tell them, so just put it out there that the building is 98,400 square feet for the purpose of calculating the parking stall requirements and if anyone says anything (they won’t) we are prepared to concoct the gross vs net square foot story.  

Lehi: Oh, OK, anything you say.

The LDS Church has not revealed how they came up with 98,400 square foot figure. Remember, they are more than likely the single tenant in the building and this makes a big difference!

They LDS Church has even stopped talking about the Family Search and Discovery Center, why is that?

Could it be that the Family Search and Discovery Center requires parking? How much parking? How many square feet will the Family Search and Discovery Center occupy in the proposed massive 4 story office complex?  What is the required number of parking stalls for this venture? Isn’t this building the NEW Worldwide Corporate Headquarters of the Family Search and Discovery Center? Isn’t the NEW Worldwide Corporate HQ of the Family Search and Discovery Center along with the Family Search and Discovery Center the ONLY tenant of this massive 4 story 135,000 square foot office building (sole tenant)? Don't know, but it makes a difference, a huge difference when calculating parking stall requirements.

I have heard LDS Church representative’s share this new office building will be occupied by LDS Church employees working for the Worldwide Corporate Headquarters of the Family Search and Discovery Center. Will they be occupying the whole building?  At one point, LDS Church representatives indicated that when they first proposed building 2 x 120,000 square foot office buildings that the LDS Church would be using one of the buildings and leasing out the other.  Now that there is only one building, is the LDS Church using the entire building?  

This is a very important question!

The new massive 4 story office building proposed by the LDS Church is 135,000 square feet. Parking stall requirements as defined in the Lehi Area plan say you MUST have 4.5 parking stalls for every 1000 square feet.  In the case of a 135,000 square foot building you would need 608 slots. Problem for the LDS Church is that they only have enough parking stalls for 497 cars and that includes ALL the parking stalls for phase 2, the LDS Stake Center.  The LDS Church is short 115 parking stalls and that leaves no parking stalls at all for the proposed future development of an LDS Stake Center.

The LDS Church is short the required number of parking stalls, plain and simple, do the math, 135 x 4.5 = 607.5.

The LDS Church in their application throughout a figure of 98,400 square foot, didn’t define it as anything other than for the purpose of calculating the required number of parking stalls. They came up with a figure of 443 stalls would be required for the proposed massive 4 story 135,000 square foot office complex. 

What?  Wait?

Where did that figure come from?

Why is it even in this application?

What does it mean and why is the LDS Church using this figure instead of the 135,000 square feet figure?

I know the answer, can you see the rub?

THEY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH PARKING STALLS SO THEY INVENTED A FIGURE, THREW IT OUT THERE AND SAID THE NEW MASSIVE 4 STORY OFFICE BUILDING WAS NOT 135,000 SQUARE FEET, BUT 98,400 SQUARE FEET (for the propose of calculating the required number of parking stalls),however, it is still a 135,000 square feet massive office complex.

They are short parking stalls, plain and simple and they are playing games hoping none will catch them, well you have been caught.

This whole project from the very beginning has been extremely secretive and deceptive, par for the coarse for the LDS Church. If they told you the truth about anything, you might not buy in what they are selling.

The truth is, the building is 135,000 square feet, not 98,400 square feet. The LDS Church needs 608 parking stalls, not 443 or 497. The LDS Church is short 115 parking stalls. 

The LDS Church is building the building. 

The LDS Church will own the building (you can play games if you like and say it is one of your subsidiaries that will own and operate the building), but, the truth is, all the subsidiaries are owned by the LDS Church. 

The LDS Church will lease the building from itself or one of its subsidiaries. 

The truth is the LDS Church is not being honest and is playing games with the parking stall requirements and the City of Lehi is more than willing to play games with them. 

The truth is, the LDS Church has NO separate parking stalls for what they call phase 2, the building of a LDS Stake Center. 

The truth is that unless you share parking between a commercial LDS office building and an LDS Stake Center you would be hundreds of parking stalls short.   

Truth is, the LDS Church will own and operate both the massive 4 story office complex and the LDS Stake Center. 

We have been told the tenants from the commercial office building (Worldwide Corporate HQ of the Family Search and Discovery Center) will use the LDS Stake Center for recreational purposes and for other various reasons. Truth is, the LDS Stake Center will be open for business for those who work at the LDS office building.

TRUTH IS:  The LDS Church is short parking stalls.
TRUTH IS:  The LDS Church and the City of Lehi are playing games with the parking stall requirements.

What are they going to do about it?

What is the City of Lehi going to do about it?

Why is there a phase 2, a LDS Stake Center?  Why is the LDS Stake Center approval being sought after using a Conditional Use Permit?  (I will tackle that subject later)

Why won't they discuss the LDS Stake Center parking requirements in this proposal?  (I can tell you why and will reveal to this to you later - shared parking? We will see about that!)

Anyway you cut it, the truth is, the LDS Church is playing games and hoping to not be caught, well they have been caught, now what are they going to do about it? My hunch, NOTHING! Why? 

Because those who work for the LDS Church are intent on building his building by hook or crook, anyway they can, breaking contractual commitments in a special warranty deed and all the rules, so what, so say the representatives of the LDS Church. We want what we want, where we want it and nothing will stop us, lie, cheat or break the law, nothing stops us from our reported mission to build this massive 4 story office development.

Truth is the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Lehi are being put in jeopardy because of the selfish interest of the LDS Church. This massive 4 story office complex does not belong here, move it to the other side of the railroad tracks like EVERY OTHER commercial office building. Wasn't the original plan was to have 2 x 120,000 square feet office buildings where the cornfields are located? Isn't that why in your initial proposal you brought forth your plan to build 2 x 120,000 square feet office buildings on the Thanksgiving Point golf course driving range?  Big problem, parking!!!! No way you could fit 2 x 120,000 square feet office buildings on a 12 acre lot and have enough parking.  So you concocted a story that you would put an LDS Stake Center there instead. Hooray for you, are you great, giving the poor residents of the local area an LDS Stake Center which was going to be built anyway a couple of miles away. You look like hero's.  Well you are not. You still don't have enough parking any way you slice it. Your pathetic attempt to ram through a massive building development west of the railroad tracks is an insult.  You may get what you want, but you will also get some things you don't want and one day blood may be on your hands when one of those who have exited your building kills someone while driving down residential streets where children play. 

The LDS Church says it is all about families, well what about all those families and their children that live in the area and now will be subject to thousands of cars driving down their residential neighborhoods? 

Do you think I am writing all these blogs for fun or are the content for a book I will one day write cataloging this debacle. The truth shall be revealed for what it is and the world will know what you are up to.  You may fool those who work for the City of Lehi, you may get your project, but the truth of the matter is, what you are doing is wrong and detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of all those live, work and visit the Thanksgiving Point area.

Shame on you!

And for goodness sake, start telling the truth and stop lying and stop trying to play games, the LDS Church and its representatives should ALWAYS be above reproach.

Email sent to Kim and Christie who work for the City of Lehi, asking them to define gross vs net leasable space

From: William Conley <billhytek@hotmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2016 8:10 PM
To: kstruthers@lehi-ut.gov; chutchings@lehi-ut.gov; rwood@lehi-ut.gov; Bert Wilson; jwalker@lehi-ut.gov
Subject: Gross leasable space vs net leasable space

 

Hello Kim and Christie

I have looked and looked and looked in the Lehi City code and I can't find anywhere it talks about the difference between gross square footage versus net square footage for the purpose of calculating the parking stall requirements.  Could you please show me where in the Lehi City code it defines gross  space vs net square footage and how this is applied for the purpose of calculating the required number of parking stalls? Do you calculate ALL commercial office developments like this?  If I ask other commercial office developers to tell me how their parking stall space requirement was calculated, will they ALL say it was calculated based on net square footage? 

Chapter 39 does not define gross versus net square footage, could you please provide me with a legal definition of these terms as defined by Lehi City Code. Where can I find the method to calculating net square footage?  I imagine this is a very important calculation, where in Lehi City code will I find this information?

Could you please provide me detailed architectural drawings that show both the gross and net square footage of the proposed Thanksgiving Point office building?  I would like to know where they came up with the figure of 98,400 net square feet.

Below you will find language that was included in the application submitted by the applicant for the Thanksgiving Point office building indicating the square footage of the office building to be 135, 000 square feet.  It did not say this was the gross square footage, it said this WAS the square footage of the office building.

Question: How does a 135,000 square feet gross, net to 98,400 square feet for the purpose of calculating parking? How does a building lose 28% of its space for the purpose of determining the number of parking stalls?  How does a building gross 135,000 but net 98,400, what does that even mean?  Again does every single commercial developer in the City of Lehi calculate their parking stall requirements based on net square footage? If not, why not? When they made this calculation, did they back out the Family Search and Discovery Center?  You must have the calculation they made for this proposed development.  They must have showed you how they came up with a net of 98,400 square feet.  I would like to see how they came up with that figure. They could not have just pulled that number out of thin air, You must have that information, please provide it to me or provide me with the minutes of the meeting where this information was presented to the City in one of your DRC meetings.

Here is the language from the application.

ANALYSIS

The applicant is requesting site plan approval for a 4-story, 135,000 square foot office building in the Thanksgiving Point development. 

Although a church building is proposed to be constructed as a future phase, all site improvements, including the parking for the entire project, is being constructed with this phase. As per the Area Plan, a minimum of 4.5 parking stalls are required for every 1,000 square feet of gross leasable space. The proposed building is 98,400 square feet, for a requirement of 443 stalls. There are 494 stalls shown on the proposed site plan. Parking for the future phase will be evaluated at the time of Conditional Use Approval. ( I have a ton of questions and concerns on the CUA which I will forward you at a later time)

Ensign a civil engineering company wrote a letter to whom it may concern.  In that letter, paragraph two it reads, “Phase 1 will consist of one 135,100 s.f. office building with the entire parking lot”. 

Interesting enough the language above clearly states “as per the area plan, a minimum of 4.5 parking stalls are REQUIRED for every 1000 square feet of gross leasable space.” 

 How do you define gross leasable space?  I have built numerous commercial office buildings and have leased multiple office spaces and worked for an organization that leased office space.  Never have I encountered the term gross leasable space, what does that mean exactly?   

Will the LDS Church be leasing space to anyone but themselves?  

 It then goes on to say “the proposed building is 98,400 square feet, for a requirement of 443 stalls.” 

How did they come up with that figure?  

 It does not say that the 98,400 square feet is the net square footage or that it is the gross leasable space, it merely states that the proposed building is 98,400 square feet which means nothing because it defines nothing. 

It is neither gross leasable space or net leasable space, just that the proposed office building is 98,400 square feet which is in conflict with an earlier statement that it was 135,000 square feet.   

The area plan calls out a requirement for 4.5 parking stalls for every 1000 square feet of GROSS LEASABLE SPACE!!!!!   

The gross leasable space has not been properly identified and the office building is said to have 135,000 square feet. The net leasable space has not been defined and it would not matter anyway.  The area plan calls out 4.5 stalls for every 1000 square feet of gross leasable space.  

 This project needs 608 parking stalls just for the office building.   

This project does not have enough parking stalls for a 135,000 square foot office building.   

This is not a 98,400 square foot office building, it is either a 135,000 square foot office building or it is a 98,400 square foot office building, it can’t be both.

Along with this a civil engineering firm defines the office building as having 135,000 square feet.  Nowhere do they say anything about a 98,400 square foot office building.

I imagine you have all the information in writing from the LDS Church and I am sure that this subject has been discussed on numerous occasions in your DRC meetings.   

So please provide me with answers to my questions and provide me the material I have requested.

I have looked and looked and looked and can't find where it defines the required number of parking stalls for a commercial office development or a LDS Stake Center in the area plan. Could you please provide me with the relevant section in the Lehi City code Area Plan that provides this information? 

  In that section does it also address the gross vs net square footage calculation?

In the meeting the concept of shared parking was discussed, what is the shared parking space code that was referenced in the planning commission meeting on March 24, 2016? Where can I find this code and how is it being applied in this case.  Are there other commercial office building and church buildings that share parking?  Can you really determine the number of parking stalls by when you expect people to be at these two separate buildings?  Has that been done before, if so, who has done that and where are these businesses located? Who will be working at the office building and what are their prescribed hours of operation.  Who will be attending the church building and what are their prescribed hours of operation. How many people are expected daily at the Family Search and Discovery Center?  What are their hours of operation?  Where will these people be parking?  How is their parking requirement calculated in this equation? Do they require more or less parking per 1000 square feet of office space?  

What is the typical number of parking stalls that you would need for a LDS Stake Center?  This building is said to be 22,400 square feet, what if it was a standalone building not sharing a parking lot with a commercial office building, what would be the requirement for parking?  How many parking stalls would they need? Is a Stake Center viewed differently than a standard LDS Church?  Do they require more parking since on numerous occasions, they can expect between 1500 and 2500 people in attendance?

I will visit the conditional use questions I have and I have plenty, so for now, please address my questions listed above.  I am happy to meet with you in person to go over your response, please let me know what would be a convenient time for you to meet.

 

Thank you

Bill Conley  801 867 7227

Section 28.070 Development Standards, see why the planning commission on March 24, 2016 didn't even bring this subject up

 Here is one item that the planning commission (March 24, 2016) failed to even discuss, the proposed office building.  Why do you think they DID NOT want to discuss the proposed office building in the last planning commission meeting?  Why, BECAUSE, the proposed office building DOES NOT meet Lehi City building codes as defined in chapter 28.  Lets take a look at what was included in the package received by each commissioner regarding applicable development code regulations.  In this blog post, I will focus on section 28.070, development standards

Section 28.070.   Development Standards.

Where a Resort Community Zone proposes a mix of recreational and commercial or business park uses, the following development standards shall apply in addition to any other commercial development standards contained in this Code or the Design Standards and Public Improvement Specifications manual:

A.  Building Design.

The proposed structures  
shall be complimentary (most certainly IS NOT. Hey Kim Struthers, Christie Hutchings and planning commissioners, it says complimentary.  It does not say, an eye sore, out of place, does not fit, it says complimentary as in similar.  Does it this massive office complex similar or complimentary to the club house, the single family residents of Thanksgiving Village, no it is not!)

 to the
surrounding   (Thanksgiving Point club house, Thanksgiving Village single family residences, across the railroad tracks, Young Living and more single family residences, down the street on the same side of the street, the curiosity center and flower gardens. This development is unlike any other development to the north, south and east)
architecture in terms of  
scale (may be the largest commercial office development in Thanksgiving Point at 135,000 square feet.  It sits next to a very small club house and single family residences)
massing (extremely large for the area, a massive office complex, 4 story's. Nothing west of the railroad tracks is 4 stories, NOTHING)
roof shape (not similar to anything to the north, south, east and there are no buildings to the west).
and exterior materials. (not similar to any of the buildings directly to the north, south, east and there are no buildings to the west).
Buildings should not create large bulky masses  (I think a 135,000 square foot office complex is a large bulky mass. Nothing even comes close to it in size.  The club house to the north and the single family residences to the south are puny by comparison)
 but
should be
 scaled down into groupings of smaller attached structures. (Have you read the code LDS Church, it says scaled down into groupings of smaller attached structures, not one large massive office complex).

 Buildings

 adjacent (next to Thanksgiving Village - single family residences)

to single family detached units should be

limited to 2 stories or 35 feet. (Certainly not 4 stories)

I know that the proposed new office development is adjacent to Thanksgiving Village, Desert Forest Lane and single family residents, see my blog post below.  Therefore, it should not exceed 2 stories or 35 feet in height.

Adjacent 

Now lets take a look at the surrounding structures. The proposed office building IS NOT complimentary to the surrounding architecture, if fact it will stand out like a sore thumb. It doesn't come close to resembling anything west of the railroad tracks and if you look directly across the railroad tracks (east) you will find more homes and the Young Living buildings, nope, doesn't resemble them either. Right next to the proposed office building is the Thanksgiving Point golf course club house, doesn't resemble that either.  On the southern border of the property lies Thanksgiving Village, Desert Forest Lane, hey I own part of that as do all other home owners in Thanksgiving Village and single family homes which are adjacent to the proposed development.  Keep in mind the Family Search plat is a single lot subdivision.  It does not matter that the proposed office development is on the northern border of the property (actually, the Family Search and Discovery Center can't be located on the northern border, it MUST be located on the southern border - special warranty deed signed by the LDS Church and Beesmark LLC below.

Special Warranty Deed

To see a copy of the proposed 4 story massive office complex, click on the link below and to to page 10.

Proposed Office Complex

Once you have taken a look at what the church is proposing (page 10 on the link above),  take a look at the surrounding buildings below and I dare you to say, yes, this massive office complex the church is building is just like every other building in the area, just like them! Actually it is not, not even close. (Notice the roof design, not a single building that is using a flat roof structure.  Why not, because code won't allow it (chapter 28))

Directly across from the proposed massive office development to the east, Young Living

Just down the road from the proposed massive office complex, the curiosity center, notice the roof.

Part of the curiosity Center, notice the roof

Thanksgiving Point gardens building, where you enter to go to the tulip festival, notice the roof.

Homes to the east across from the railroad tracks

 

Young Living is directly across the railroad tracks to the east, notice the roof.

Club house, will sit 100 feet from the new massive office tower, I don't think they look very similar.

Thanksgiving Village and Desert Forest Lane border the southern edge of the property. I live in Thanksgiving Village, less than 200 feet from the border of the Family Search plat. You could say it is nearly right outside my front door.

My home is the second on on the right.

B.  Parking.

Large expanses of asphalt shall be reduced and broken into smaller parking lots. Parking lots shall include ample landscaping to buffer cars from neighboring properties including the use of berms and landscaped islands (see Section12.090 C).

If you look at the parking lot, it appears to me to be contiguous and one large parking lot with three entrances to the complex.  All three entrances lead to parking and all the parking lots are interconnected.  Here is interesting part.  The massive office complex plans to use the parking lot designated for the future LDS Stake Center and the LDS Stake Center plans to use the parking lot of the massive office complex, they will share parking because there is not enough parking for both. Find me another Stake Center in Lehi that shares parking with a massive office complex or any other commercial office building. This is just plain wrong. Oh but it is not weird, happens all the time, well maybe not, maybe NEVER before anywhere in Lehi by any LDS church building. How pathetic.

C.  Access and Traffic.

Adequate vehicular and pedestrian access must be provided.
Direct
access from an arterial or

collector street (not residential streets) to the office and professional service uses must be provided.
A traffic impact study shall be required as part of the Area Plan, to project auto and truck traffic generated by the uses proposed.

I haven't seen a traffic impact study as part of the area plan.  I heard that the church had paid for a traffic study and the study came back showing CURRENT traffic conditions in the Thanksgiving Point area receiving an F grade.  But hey, lets just keep building, add commercial office building after commercial office building and increasing traffic congestion.  Oh, I have an idea says the geniuses at the church and city,  lets put in two new stoplights years from now, that will solve the problem.  Well, no it won't, it will only make matters worse and beside, that may be years from now, what are you going to do in the meantime geniuses?.  No matter, we want our building so says the church and we will get our building, we don't care about your silly city codes, they were not meant for us, we can do anything we want, including breaking any contractual commitments we made in a special warranty deed.  Oh that thing, that means nothing to us, we are not men of our word, men of integrity, we are men who get things done by hook or crook - so says Brent Robert, Nathan Hale and the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Check out the special warranty deed signed by the church and Beesmark, LLC.

Special Warranty Deed 

D.  Roof Design.

Flat
or 

low pitched roofs shall be avoided and roof lines should blend in with surrounding buildings. 

Roof design may be further defined as part of an approved Area Plan.

Well, is the roof proposed by the church a low pitched roof?  I believe so, so shall it be avoided?  I believe so!  Does it blend in with the surrounding buildings?   

That would be a big absolute NO! (check out the pictures I posted above, not a single flat or low pitched roof in the surrounding area, not ONE!)

So why is the church proposing a low flat roof instead of blending their building into the surrounding buildings? They just don't care!  They want what they want, they could give a rat's ass if their building blends in with the surrounding buildings.  As I said before, the code that everyone else on the planet needs to abide by does not pertain to them, just the rest of us lowly peons.

E.  Materials.

New buildings should blend with the materials of surrounding buildings. Building materials may be further defined as part of an approved Area Plan.F. I am seriously getting tired of writing, of course the materials the church has selected DO NOT blend with the materials of the surrounding buildings, that would be absurd, what the church comply with city code (chapter 28), are you kidding me? By the way, the church showed on brick color panel included in the application.  that was enough for the planning commission, nothing to see here. The panel was not the final selection, just a color panel of brick. 

I .  Signage.

Signage of buildings should be part of a coordinated signage system for the entire Resort development.Signage should help unify the development and provide a positive image. Natural materials such as wood, stone, rock and metal with external illumination are encouraged. The use of monument signs is also encouraged. The size and location of signage shall conform to the requirements and design guidelines of Chapter 23, Signs, of this Code.

Haven't seen anything produced by the church regarding signage, but hey, the planning commission doesn't need to see a thing like that, approve away, it is the church for goodness sake, we must approve, we have to approve, we must conform, so says Bruce R. McConkie in his talk,

Obedience,Consecration, and Sacrifice

 

Members of the church must conform, it is required of them if the are members of the church. There church calling comes before their civic responsibilities.  You want to know why those at the city are allowing the church to violate code after code ordinances, could it possibly be that they belong to a church that demands their unconditional conformity?

G. Lighting.

Outdoor lighting should be screened by shields or hoods to prevent glare onto adjacent properties. The intensity of large fixtures should be reduced by utilizing a larger number of smaller light poles of twelve (12) to eighteen (18) feet. Incandescent lights should be used in smaller pedestrian spaces where quality light is especially important.

Haven't seen anything regarding the lighting, but hey planning commission, don't let that stop you from approving the churches proposed office building.

In fact, don't even discuss this in your planning commission meeting, might foul things up.

And for goodness sake Steve Roll, don't let anyone from the community that is impacted by this development have even 20 seconds to share a thought.  Make sure you shut down all discussion and you ram through a development that will most definitely harm the health, safely and welfare of the residents of Lehi.

To conclude, this massive office development located on the northern border of the property not only DOES NOT come close to meeting Lehi City Code, chapter 28 governing resort communities It also breaks the law by violating a contractual commitment the church made with Beesmark, LLC.

But, hey, ram it through, code, what code, contract, what contract, agreement, what agreement.

We are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we get what we want, we are the big bully on the block, so sit down and shut up and let us build whatever we want, where ever we want.

Letter given to the Lehi Planning Commission on March 24th with questions regarding the Thanksgiving Point Office Development

March 24th, 2016 To:  Lehi Planning Commission From:  Bill Conley Subject:  Additional concerns over the Thanksgiving Point Office approval  Thanksgiving Point Office Site Approval https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/6661/TP_Office.1.pdf  Thanksgiving Point Office Site Approval photos and  architect drawings https://legistarweb-roduction.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/6662/TP_OFfice_map.1.pdf In the analysis of the plan, the church has requested approval for a 135,000 square foot office building (paragraph 1).  In paragraph 3, they indicate they are going to build a 98,400 square foot building, which is it?  At 135,000 square feet they will need 559 stalls, at 98,400 square feet they will need 443 stalls, and they say they are going to have 494 stalls, less than they will need if the building is 135,000 square feet.  I highly doubt this building is only going to be 98,400 since their initial proposal to the city was a 120,000 square foot office building. How many stalls will be required by the city for the Family Search and Discovery Center?  That has not been defined in this application.  I can’t imagine it is the same ratio as 4.5 stalls to every 1000 feet.  How many people do they believe will be visiting the Family Search and Discovery Center on a daily basis?  How many workers?  How large is the center? None of this is mentioned, only that they are building a commercial building of 135,000 square feet or 98,400 square feet. I don’t think they have enough parking stalls for the commercial office building and a future LDS Stake Center.  As a standalone Stake Center, how much parking would be required? As a standalone commercial office building, they do not have enough parking slots. Are they including parking stalls from what will eventually be the LDS Stake Center?  If so, are you sure they can do this?  Someone needs to check if this is allowed.  Has this ever been done before?  Can you mix a for profit commercial enterprise and a religious institution and share parking?  I highly doubt it.  I don’t think the IRS will take kindly to this situation. Where else in Lehi is there a LDS Stake Center combined with a LDS Commercial office development?  Where else in the country?   Highly unusual and I don’t believe should be allowed. There is NO WAY that 50% of the property (6+ acres) is landscaped.  Look at the drawings. Are they including in this application the future proposed LDS Stake Center as landscaping?  I was told by Christie that the church intends to propose the construction of the LDS Stake center a few weeks from now.  If so, including it as landscaping in this application seems a bit disingenuous.  I would like to know the exact square footage of the landscaping.  In order for this project to be at 50% they would need to landscape over 261,360 square feet.  Really, don’t quite see 6+ acres of landscaping on the drawings they provided.  Don’t buy it! Have them prove it; the drawings clearly DO NOT show 6+ acres of landscaping. Parking is an issue. Landscaping is an issue. Most importantly, the building itself is an issue! Not to code, not even close to code!  I gave you an account of how this is not up to code yesterday.  Proposed building shows the use of brick, metal accents and glass with pop-outs, awnings, decorative lighting, roof cantilevers and recessed entry.  The drawing included with this application are wholly inadequate and do not completely represent the building as it will look once it is complete. I most adamantly believe this project is adjacent to the home owners at Thanksgiving Village.  I believe that Ryan needs to research this a bit more. They indicate a traffic study has been submitted and is currently being reviewed.  Why would you even consider approving this application when the traffic study review has not been completed?  The traffic study submitted by the church received an F grade.  Nothing has changed since they have done that study. Well actually, somethings have changed; traffic has increased significantly since that study was done.  The proposed traffic signal at 2150 N and 2300 W would be a huge mistake.  That would make 3 traffic signals within a few hundred feet. One on 2150 as they suggest and two on 2100. This is ludicrous and would create a huge traffic snarl.  Traffic is already a major problem at that intersection, adding an additional light would be a nightmare.  This also suggest that they expect vehicles to travel from the proposed office development through residential neighborhoods where dozens of children play in their front yards.  Can you honestly say you are protecting the health, safety and welfare of these children by increasing the amount of traffic each day by hundreds if not thousands of vehicles? Absolutely NOT! Secondly, this traffic signal may never be installed, then what?  The project needs to be put on hold until all traffic studies have been reviewed and completed. This rush to approve is most definitely wrong. Listen to this nonsensical sentence.  The Planning Division Staff recommends that the Planning Commission grant approval to the proposed site plan as the proposed use is a permitted use within the Thanksgiving Point Resort Community (Is it?) Does the proposed development adhere to the language in the Special Warranty Deed as signed by the church and Beesmark?  Do you even care that the church is violating the signed Special Warranty Deed?  Here is the fun part: WITH THE CONDITION THAT THE CITY, THE DEVELOPER AND UDOT come to an agreement regarding ROADWAY – What?  That has never been mentioned before. What roadway improvements are they talking about?  Shouldn’t you be made aware of the potential roadway improvements? How could you possibly approve an application where the roadway improvements have not been made public.  SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS – no guarantee here.  No proof this will help or solve anything.  The traffic study has not even been completed.  I would love to see the proof of how this is going to help traffic flow and congestion, not speculation, but actual proof. MAYBE REQUIRED TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL TRAFFIC ISSUES CAUSED BY THIS DEVELOPMENT -  The mayor, multiple city officials and the church have all come out and publically stated that this WILL IN FACT create more traffic congestion.  Why would they need two traffic studies if they didn’t think traffic would be a major issue?  One stop light isn’t going to solve anything and will only hurt traffic flow and increase congestion. Lastly This project most certainly IS detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare of Lehi City.  Just ask those residents who children play in their front yard where thousands and thousands of cars will be speeding by going to and from work.  The proposed site plans DOES NOT meet the requirements of the Lehi City Development code, not even close, unless you close your eyes. Are you aware the last DRC meeting lasted 20 minutes?  In the last DRC meeting the applicant wasn’t even present.  Did you read that under current conditions the circuits feeding the proposed area have no available capacity?  What is being done with this?  When will capacity be available? Why would you even consider approving an application where there are NO circuits available to the proposed development?  Have you done this before, if so, when and for whom?  This is a big red flag.  Read further Until further review and system improvements are DESIGNED (not yet designed) and or in place (when will that be?) we (the city) are unable to serve this project.  What?  This project as of today CAN NOT be developed. All cost associated with the design, construction and implementation have not been calculated. The date of the design, construction and implementation have not been made known.  Who will pay for the design, construction and implementation? How much will it cost?  You cannot even think of approving this project without full knowledge of what this will cost and when it will be completed and by whom. Read further A line extension, conduit and equipment WILL BE REQUIRED (don’t know how much that will cost or who will pay for it) for a master circuit in order to provide adequate service to this project.  Lehi Power provided sketch with points of attachment and power infrastructure to be constructed (designed and constructed, who knows when?) I did quite a bit of research today regarding the acreage of other Stake Centers in and around the Lehi area.  The 1.41 acres as proposed would be the smallest footprint of any Stake Center anywhere that I could find.  The next smallest footprint I could find was 2.75 acres and most were much larger, some as large as nearly 10 acres.  Once again it appears to me that the Stake Center when it is built will use the commercial office building parking lot and the commercial office building will use the Stake Center parking lot.  Show me one other Stake Center in Lehi or one other church building that is doing this.  I think someone should contact the IRS and let them know what is going on in this project. It should be noted that the church is in violation of the special warranty deed they signed with Beesmark.  In that deed, the church indicated it would build a 6000 square foot family search and discovery center on the southern border of the property.  In that deed and on the drawings at Utah County of the Family Search Plat, there is no mention of a 135,000 square foot office building housing a 6000 square foot Family Search and Discovery Center.  According to the Deed a LDS Stake Center cannot be constructed on the southern border of the property, a Family Search and Discovery Center cannot be built on the northern border of the property. Morally and ethically, the church is bound by their agreement.  I believe the city has a responsibility to not participate and help one party to a contract violate the contract by approving a development. Those that have signed this agreement if they are men of integrity should live up to the agreement.  If they don’t, then they are certainly not men of integrity and do we really want organizations like that in our city? Here is a blogpost of an email I sent to various HOA’s, the news media, the Mayor, Jason Walker and Ryan Woods. Email to Thanksgiving, Vsunset, Hollow HOA's, New Media and Lehi City, March 23 alerting them to a Lehi City Planning Commission Meeting Scheduled for March 24 From: thanksgiving-vsunset-hollow-community@googlegroups.com <thanksgiving-vsunset-hollow-community@googlegroups.com> on behalf of William Conley <billhytek@hotmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2016 9:04 AM To: thanksgiving-vsunset-hollow-community@googlegroups.com Subject: Thursday March 24th, Planning Commission meeting To all homeowners, news media and Lehi City Tomorrow night, Thursday March 24th, 2016, 7pm at the Lehi City Hall. The planning commission will entertain and probably approve the Thanksgiving Point Office site plan (play close attention to the title).  I have attached the site plan for your review. You will notice in the site plan that the proposed development of the LDS Stake Center has been removed from consideration and will ONE DAY be brought forward for consideration.  In other words, the church ONLY intends to build the office building and NOT the Stake Center at this time. There is no time table given for phase 2 (Stake Center). They  do mention stubbing in utilities for a future Stake Center but fail to mention when phase 2 will be constructed.  As you can see, the only thing of interest to the church at this time is a commercial office development. For those of you excited to have a Stake Center in the neighborhood, you will just have to wait, probably several years.  Construction of the commercial office building will a considerable amount of time.  During that time, we can expect loud noise, thousands upon thousands of trucks coming to and from the site, increased traffic, dirt and dust, lights, congestion etc.  What we will NOT be getting at the same time this massive office building is being built is an LDS Stake Center.  That will come some day in the future, more than likely 3-5 to 10+  years from now.  The church may not in fact build a Stake Center on the southern border of the property. The Special Warranty Deed they signed with Beesmark, LLC does not allow them the right to build a Stake Center on the southern border.  In fact the Special Warranty Deed allows them to build a Family Search and Discovery Center of 6000+ feet on the southern border of the property, not on the northern border of the property as proposed. As you read through the notes for the planning commission meeting tomorrow night, you will see there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before I believe they should allow this development to take place, including, when is the Stake Center going to be built (give us an exact date!) I hope you will join me tomorrow evening and I hope the planning commission will allow us to voice our (my, maybe not yours) concerns over this project.    We are getting a office building rammed down our throats with the future promise of a Stake Center which they may not, according to the Special Warranty Deed be allowed to build. This project MUST not be allowed to go forward as it is currently proposed!!!!! So many of us have been bought off on the office building concept by virtue of a promise to build a Stake Center which may NEVER be built.   Do you really believe the church cares about giving us an LDS Stake Center or are they more interested in building a commercial office building for the Family Search and Discovery Corporate Headquarters? I know we all want to believe the church is above reproach, men of their word, men of integrity and that the anything the church does is worthy of praise.  I am here to remind you that the church has violated the language in the special warranty deed they have signed with Beesmark LLC.   Read it and you will see.  I believe we are being played as fools and the Stake Center may be a rouse.  The City of Lehi is complicit with allowing the church to violate the special warranty deed and in my opinion should not be trusted to protect us. They cannot say in an open meeting that the city has done everything it can to protect the safety, health and long term welfare of its citizens.  Increased traffic, noise, pollution, congestion in my opinion is NOT protecting our long term welfare.  If they say this in the meeting tomorrow night, they will be in my opinion being disingenuous. Lets have them not only say the words (words have meaning) but prove to us that our safety, health and welfare is not ONLY impacted but protected and that we are in no way, shape or form harmed in any way by this project, PROVE IT! Don't just recite some words that have no meaning and that are NOT TRUE! By the way, construction of the new driving range over by the curiosity center is already underway, drive by and you will see. The church keeps changing their plans, first two office buildings, then one office building and a Stake Center and now just one office building (which according to the special warranty deed CANNOT be located on the northern border of the property). Bill Conley 801 867 7227 https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/6661/TP_Office.1.pdf Thanksgiving Point Office Development Special warranty deed blog post Bill Conley, Investigator of the City of Lehi Utah: Special warranty deed between Thanksgiving Point Development Corp and the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lehicityut.blogspot.com