Ever since Herriman launched its animal services unit in 2019 it has leased animal shelter space from South Jordan. But in 2023, those animals could be coming home. 

The lease with South Jordan recently expired and the northern neighbors have their own plans for the space, meaning Herriman’s animal shelter needs to find a new place. 

“South Jordan has been very good to us and let us overstay our welcome by a long ways and given us another six months leeway, we have to find a place,” Councilmember Jared Henderson said prior to the vote in February.

The police department, which houses the animal services unit, found a location at 15856 South Rockwell Park Cove with tentative possibility for a seven-year lease with options for two further two-year extensions. 

While the Herriman City Council approved the lease agreement for the space, the majority were aiming for a lower lease with intentions to negotiate further with the property owner. 

Lt. Cody Stromberg told the council in February while housing the shelter in the city at a leased location they can gather information over the next several years on what the shelter might need and look like. 

“We really don’t have great data on what our sheltering needs are,” he said. 

Having years of data revealing what those needs are, he said, would prove beneficial in the planning process for a future facility. 

According to the city’s general plan, 2026 is when officials plan on exploring an animal shelter facility. 

In the meantime, officials and councilmembers felt favorable about the location, and the possibility of a resources-sharing agreement with neighbor cities Bluffdale and Riverton. But a few elected officials weren’t sure about the length of the lease, preferring a five-year term. 

Henderson preferred five years with the possible extensions along with ensuring it’s interim.

“I’d hate to be locked into something too long,” he said, before later adding “if it’s temporary, let’s make it temporary and get a real plan for a permanent one going.” 

Henderson worried if the “temporary” site stayed for too long, it could create a false sense of complacency seeing them divert capital project funding elsewhere. 

Councilmember Steven Shields was worried the location, about 6,000 square feet, wouldn’t be maximized leading to dead space. 

Stromberg assured him any extra space would be utilized completely such as an evidence overflow storage. “We would try to capture that square footage for other uses.” 

The lease option will carry an annual cost of $86,400. The South Jordan location cost was based on the animals sheltered which, according to department officials, came out to about $46,000 yearly.