WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Residents in a quiet West Valley City neighborhood made up largely of single-family homes say they’re pushing back against the possibility of new apartment developments.
For nearly two decades, Nicole McCrea has called Highbury Place in West Valley City home — drawn by what she described as a safe, close-knit area where families could put down roots.
“Highbury is a really special place, and we just want to keep it that way,” McCrea said.
But as new apartment complexes have been proposed, and in some cases built nearby, she and other neighbors say that vision feels uncertain.
The concern comes as West Valley City continues to see housing growth. According to data from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, northwest Salt Lake County has seen nearly a 7 percent increase in housing since 2020, with West Valley City at the top for new apartment units.
“A lot of that is due to trying to create smaller, more affordable units for all types of people,” Moira Dillow, a housing construction real estate analyst with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, said. “Diverse housing choices are important to a city.”
McCrea said when her family moved into the neighborhood about 18 years ago, they expected to be surrounded by mainly homes. “We were really excited to be in a housing development and be surrounded by houses, safe places for kids to ride their bikes,” she said. “We wanted a community where people would be invested.”
But over the years, she said developers have proposed adding higher-density housing, including apartment buildings, on nearby parcels of land. “We’re just concerned that with the high density, our lives will change here,” McCrea said.
An apartment complex has already been built across the street from her neighborhood, and McCrea said she has noticed differences since it opened.
“A lot of traffic issues, especially with parking,” she explained. “We had to go to the planning commission and ask them to put no parking signs on our neighborhood streets because the apartment dwellers were parking in our neighborhood.”
Recently, the West Valley City Council unanimously voted against a plan that would have added more apartment complexes to the area, a decision residents like McCrea see as a win.
Still, she said there is uncertainty about what could come next. “It’s just the stress of not knowing of what’s coming,” McCrea said.
