The Orem City Council approved a zone change for Wilkerson Farm on a 4-3 vote, Councilman Dave Spencer said at a candidate forum, a result he described as a "tragedy" given strong neighborhood opposition.

Spencer said Wilkerson Farm had operated as an agritainment site with a corn maze and other attractions and argued the property's proximity to front-runner rail, a Union Pacific line and industrial areas made it a poor site for residential density. "If it's OS5 or R8, that's your private property right. It's not you don't have the right to change it," he said when discussing the city's role in zoning.

Spencer said about 95% of the people at the hearing opposed the rezoning but that four council members voted in favor. He criticized what he described as developer ties to some council members and said approving density there risked creating a concentrated rental market next to the tracks and a loss of one of the city's remaining open spaces.

(Decision) Spencer reported the council vote as 4-3 in favor of the zone change; he said names of movers or seconds were not provided in the forum remarks.

(Implication) Spencer urged more caution on approvals for the roughly 5% of Orem's land that is still undeveloped, noting the city's parks master plan says it needs roughly 37 acres of park land going forward.