Blighted or oppressed?

WEST BOUNTIFUL — While the recent opening of a Costco warehouse here was praised by residents, a handful of small business owners say the store symbolizes a greedy deal that cost them sales, a prime freeway location and for some, their livelihood.

Of the 30 or so businesses that had shops on the site where Costco was built, at least two have gone out of business. Others, including Barton's Scooters & Motor Sports, may soon close.

Robert Barton, owner of the scooter shop, is meeting with attorneys to see if he can sue West Bountiful for loss of business. It's not that the city didn't have the right to assist in wooing a bigger store, he said. It's how they did it.

And that's the rub.

To help bring Costco into the city, West Bountiful officials declared the area west of 500 West and between 400 North and 200 South a redevelopment agency project. The area was legitimately blighted, according to city manager Wendell Wild. It had been developed "piecemeal" with conflicting land uses, he said.

"It's going to be a matter of opinion in regards to whether we should or shouldn't have done what we did," said Wild. "I believe — and I think our RDA attorney and RDA consultant would feel and think the same — that this was an ideal situation for using RDA funds."

But the businesses that used to occupy the area say they were thriving there.

Artoosh Hasratian, owner of the El Matador Restaurant, said the deal was a prime example of the abuse of RDA powers. While eminent domain was never used, Hasratian said the city threatened to condemn his restaurant to get him to move. He was a tenant, however, not the owner of the building.

"This was not a negotiation," he said. "It was like coming up to someone and saying, 'Listen sweetheart, you're going to marry me,' and then putting a gun to their head."

He continued: "If people are decent. If city officials are decent, God-fearing officials, they will realize that what they are doing is wrong. You don't kick people out of homes and businesses and give them not a third of the money they deserve so they can bring in Costco and Bed Bath & Beyond and Applebees."

Lawmakers are currently studying the scope of RDA powers in Utah. A bill approved by the state Legislature last year put a one-year ban on RDA projects. The use of eminent domain was also banned.

Proponents say RDAs are one of the few tools cities can use to redevelop blighted areas. An RDA is typically used to divert property taxes back to a development to assist with infrastructure and other costs.