EAGLE MOUNTAIN — After 11 years of being a town, Eagle Mountain officials are saying it's time for the city to grow up — commercially.
In an effort to snag some big corporate fish before the city's neighbor to the east — Saratoga Springs — clears out the pond, Eagle Mountain is preparing an incentives package that could help attract some nationally known companies to the far-flung town on the western side of Utah Lake.
"We just feel like this is the time to do it," Eagle Mountain Mayor Don Richardson said. "The population in Eagle Mountain is 19,000, which is larger than Saratoga Springs, and we feel like it's a little more convenient for our people here to go to something closer without having to go down the hill (state Route 73)."
Saratoga Springs, which is about 15 minutes to 30 minutes away from Eagle Mountain, already has a Smith's, McDonald's, Subway and plans for a Wal-Mart, but Richardson says Eagle Mountain has begun to generate more economic development interest than before.
A representative of Associated Food Stores Inc., which is linked to Macey's grocery store, recently made a presentation to the City Council about possibly coming to the city, but current discussions on the project are preliminary. No formal applications for a grocery store in the city have yet been made, said Eagle Mountain Planning Director Peter Spencer.
The city has also had talks with a potential second gas station, an all-terrain vehicle manufacturing company, a credit union and some fast-food restaurants, such as Sonic.
"I think everyone wants more services available without having to drive so far," Spencer said. "(Economic development) is high on the priority list for the entire city. We're aggressively marketing the entire city as much as we can."
Although Eagle Mountain may see Saratoga Springs as a competitor, since stores that already exist in the neighboring city are not likely to relocate down the road, Saratoga Springs Mayor Timothy Parker says he's in favor of commercial development in Eagle Mountain.
"It's great their citizens are coming to our city and spending their dollars in our city, but I'm not opposed to them developing economically," Parker said. "I think it's important for the region at large. If the time comes that we're going to get competitive, then we'll compete. But right now ... there's no competition. If there was, then we're winning and I don't want to flaunt that."
To help the process of building a bigger business base in Eagle Mountain, the city recently hosted a summit between landowners and developers to foment a relationship between the two. The city is also compiling a list of landowners' information so commercial developers in need of property will know who to contact to gain a place in the city.
As part of an incentive package, the city is working to establish a Community Development Area, which, under Utah legislation, would allow the town to return property taxes to potential redevelopment projects. The city is also considering waiving impact fees or discounting the city-owned utilities for qualifying companies.
To determine how much incentive Eagle Mountain should consider giving to potential companies, city employees are studying a cost analysis of how much money the city would gain or lose by the presence or absence of certain businesses.
Spencer said the semi-remoteness of the city is a challenge that must be overcome, as well as traffic congestion on S.R. 73. But the rapid growth of the city, whose residents have a median age of 13 years old, can also be appealing, Richardson said.
"I think there's plenty of opportunity here, and I think that in the years coming, those that have made that presence in the city will be even more excited," Richardson said. "If you look at Eagle Mountain, we have the land mass to be the third largest city in the state of Utah. ... I can't say how previous (city) administrations have looked at it, but this administration is very pro-economic development. I think it's good for all of the citizens and the city."
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