Eagle Mountain, Utah

Eagle Mountain is a city in Utah County, Utah. It is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The city is located to the west as well as north of the Lake Mountains, which are west of Utah Lake. It was incorporated in December 1996 and is rapidly growing. The population was 43,623 at the 2020 census. Eagle Mountain was a town in 2000. It has since been classified as a third-class city in September 2001. In its short history, the city has become known for its rapid growth.

Founding
In 1994, John Walden, a real estate developer from Florida, and physicians Scott Gettings and Andrew Zorbis, who all own houses in Park City and come to Utah to ski, bought about 8,000 acres of land in the Cedar Valley at a bankruptcy auction, under the company names of "TI Mortgage" and "Monte Vista Ranch". No one lived in the area they wanted to incorporate, so they, along with developer Debbie Hooge, who lives in what is now in Eagle Mountain, approached those living in two communities about five miles away, Cedar Pass Ranch, a community of large lots, and Harvest Haven, a polygamous community on the opposite side of Highway 73.

They signed and the town, at 24 square miles, incorporated in December 1996 as the Town of Eagle Mountain. Debbie Hooge was appointed as the First Mayor of the Town of Eagle Mountain. In 2001, the city was reclassified and renamed to Eagle Mountain City. In 2011, Eagle Mountain extended further west with the annexation of the White Hills neighborhood, which had about 400 residents, as well as an area that is part of the Pole Canyon development plan. The land outside of White Hills was almost 2,900 acres.

Landmarks
The area is home to several natural and manmade landmarks, including a site along the original Pony Express trail, and a boulder with 1,800-year-old rock art petroglyphs carved by ancient Fremont Indians.

Geography
Eagle Mountain is located at the western and northern bases of the Lake Mountains, in the flat Cedar Valley, east and northeast of the town of Cedar Fort. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 50.3 sqmi, all land.

Climate
Eagle Mountain's climate varies drastically between the northeastern Ranches area and the southwestern City Center area. Despite being further south than Salt Lake City, both areas have cooler temperatures, due to sitting at a higher elevation. The Ranches section of the city has slightly milder temperatures, since it is closer to the moderating impact of the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys, as well as the Great Salt Lake, which gives it a climate more similar to Salt Lake City.

The City Center area near Fairfield lies in the Cedar Valley, which cuts that area off from the moderating influence of the Salt Lake Valley and Great Salt lake. This causes nights to get significantly colder than in the Ranches, and puts it in a rain shadow, causing less precipitation and more sunshine than the Ranches part of the city.

Within the Köppen climate classification, the climate of the Ranches area is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) or hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) depending on which variant of the system is used. The City Center area is drier and cooler. The Köppen classification for this area is cold semi-arid (BSk), although rainfall is nearly enough to classify the area as warm-summer humid continental (Dfb).

Demographics


As of the census of 2010, there were 21,415 people, 5,111 households, and 4,741 families residing in the town. The population density was 513.6 inhabitants per square mile (20.0/km2). There were 5,546 housing units, at an average density of 133 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 91.9% White, 0.6% African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaskan Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 2.7% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.6% of the population.

In 2010, there were 5,111 households, of which 72.9% had children under 18 living with them, 84.7% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 7.2% were non-families. 5.0% of all households were made up of individuals. 0.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.19. The average family size was 4.34.

In 2010, 49.5% of the population were aged under 18. 4.6% were aged from 20 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 8.0% from 45 to 64, and 1.8% were aged 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20.3 years.

In the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007-2011 statistics, the median household income was $64,676. The 2007-2011 per capita income for the town was $17,814. About 7.6% of the population was below the poverty line.

In 2015, Eagle Mountain was the 10th most conservative city in the United States, as judged by political donations.

Parks and recreation


The city lists four regional parks and about 35 local parks. Eagle Mountain City parks are identified on the city's Parks Finder Map. In 2009, Eagle Mountain opened the Mountain Ranch Bike Park. This park is the first of its kind on the Wasatch Front. It features a jump line, two slopestyle tracks, a single track network, and a skills area with a pump track and wood features.

In January 2015 the city council approved budget for expanding Cory B. Wride Memorial park.

Government
Eagle Mountain City has a six-member, Traditional Council form of government. The mayor is a non-voting member of the Council, except in the situation of a tie vote. The mayor acts as an elected executive, with the city council functioning with legislative powers. Eagle Mountain, by ordinance, offers candidates for mayor the option of declaring candidacy as the primary source of income at $70,000 per year, or a secondary source of income at $27,700.

The mayor may select a chief administrative officer to oversee the different departments. The current mayor is Tom Westmoreland who took office in January 2018. Eagle Mountain City has seen a voting history from 3% (2014) of registered voter to 95% (1997) of registered voters participating in an election over the course of its incorporation.

Education
Eagle Mountain is located in the Alpine School District. It has eight elementary schools, Eagle Valley, Hidden Hollow, Mountain Trails, Pony Express, Blackridge, Brookhaven, Silver Lake, and Desert Sky. Frontier Middle School serves students in grades 7–8, except those in the Silverlake area, who attend Vista Heights Middle School in Saratoga Springs.

Cedar Valley High School opened in August 2019. Some in the Silverlake area attend Westlake High School. Samuel Jarman is the superintendent of schools.

The city has three public charter schools, The Ranches Academy, John Hancock Charter School, and Rockwell Charter High School.

Transportation
The six major roads running into Eagle Mountain include Utah State Route 73, which runs through the northern part of the city and along its western edge into Cedar Fort. Eagle Mountain Blvd goes straight to the city center. Ranches Pkwy provides access to the Ranches from Utah State Route 73. Aviator Ave runs from Eagle Mountain Blvd to Pony Express Pkwy, by the new Cedar Valley High School. Pole Canyon Blvd provides access from White Hills to City Center. The Pony Express Pkwy was extended east to Redwood road in Saratoga Springs in 2010. This was done to facilitate access with the rest of Utah County via connection with Pioneer Crossing, the east-west connector from Redwood Road to I-15.

SR-73, Eagle Mountain Boulevard, and Ranches Parkway provide regional access to the city from Salt Lake Valley. Pioneer Crossing, Redwood Road, and Pony Express Parkway provide access to the city from Utah Valley. The city center sits at least 15 mi from the two valleys' main transportation corridor along Interstate 15. The Utah Department of Transportation is in the process of building a western freeway for the Salt Lake Valley, the Mountain View Corridor, which will connect to SR-73, only a few miles from the city.

In 2008, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) began service on an express bus route (#806) into Eagle Mountain. It is the first UTA bus to service the city.

Notable people

 * David Blair, Paralympic discus thrower
 * Daniel Burton, computer programmer and bicycle enthusiast
 * Gregg Hale – guitar player for multi-platinum selling British band Spiritualized
 * J. LaMoine Jenson, leader of Apostolic United Brethren (2005-2014)
 * David Lifferth, former member of the Utah House of Representatives (2013–2017)
 * Noelle Pikus-Pace, retired skeleton racer
 * Eric James Stone, author