From Deseret News archives:
Zoning change downed in Bluffdale
City Council denies last-ditch effort to appease developers
On a contentious 3-2 vote, the council denied a zoning change that would have applied the city's mixed-use (MU) zone to parts of Area 4, a 4,000-acre chunk of land on Bluffdale's southwest corner that makes up about 40 percent of the city's land area.
Councilwoman Laurie Maxfield moved that the change be denied, blaming the newly elected mayor and council members and a vocal residents' group for the city's previous inability to come to a deal with the developers. She said the MU zone was not appropriate for Area 4 and approving it would be compromising good planning in reaction to a political controversy.
The land is mostly owned by two developers who have been seeking to develop it for years. The landowners, South Farms and South Hills Development, want to build residential and commercial developments at densities higher than most of the rest of Bluffdale, which is made up largely of one-acre lots.
The city has since attempted to negotiate with the developers, creating a zoning category called the special development plan, or SDP, which could be applied to Area 4 and would allow the whole area to be master-planned at once. However, residents opposed to the development formed a group called Bluffdale United and began collecting signatures for a referendum to bring the SDP to a public vote.
Then, earlier this fall, the council voted to approve two consent decrees that included a development agreement with the developers. The consent decrees were brought before 3rd District Judge Anthony Quinn in the developers' disconnection lawsuit, with both the city and the developers asking him to accept the agreement and dismiss the suit.
But Quinn refused to accept the agreement, saying he was being asked to step into a political disagreement over land use when the lawsuit was solely about a proposed disconnection.
Comments
- Soccer MVPs know how to win 1:56 a.m.
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009 1:56 a.m.
- High school soccer: Past MVPs 1:37 a.m.
- Senators want food tax restored 1:27 a.m.
- Utah women lag in higher education 1:16 a.m.
- Hatch empathizes with Muslims 1:14 a.m.
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP 1:13 a.m.
- Mitchell seeks to block witnesses 1:12 a.m.
- Party insiders may take on Bennett 1:11 a.m.
- Input sought on nondiscrimination 1:11 a.m.
- TCU showdown has big implications
- Seniors helped BYU regroup
- Bystanders framed for child porn
- Lambert surprisingly tops news
- Soccer MVPs know how to win
- Hope for single moms
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP
- Utah Jazz Extra: Whose hot/not
- Korver and Miles to be evaluated
- Mitchell seeks to block witnesses
- House passes health care bill
229 - TCU showdown has big implications
183 - Lobo suspended
182 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
154 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
118 - Thousands protest health bill
115 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
97 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
Why do so many people live so close to refineries in Utah and elsewhere?
RE: to Jerry deserves credit; I didn't see the game but I won't give Jerry...
Many thanks to the writer for this reasoned argument. Some writers stoop to...
I was a Fred L. fan when he ran for Gov., I think he will be great. He has...
I arrived in Berlin on July 5, 1961 as a missionary. We spent most of our...
To those people that have "large"families and are complaining about the...
This tax has nothing to do with being poor because the poor on food stamps...
TCU is a very small school with a lot of pride and tradition. They were a...
Can I get this game on the internet?
Daybreak is in a bubble.
"Teens spend more time with teachers than they do with their parents." Thats...



You can be the first to comment on this story.