Aspen developer asks court to intervene

The Arizona developer who plans to build the town of Aspen in Wasatch County has asked the Utah Supreme Court to intervene on his behalf.

Dean Sellers' attorneys, Barney Gesas and Steven Clyde, filed a petition for an extraordinary writ in the nature of mandamus with the Utah Supreme Court Tuesday morning.

They are asking the court to hear oral arguments that Wasatch County Clerk/Auditor Brent Titcomb acted outside of his authority when he denied Sellers' petition to incorporate the town of Aspen.

Sellers wants to build the town of Aspen on 8,366 acres of land south of Heber City.

Titcomb denied Sellers' Nov. 8 incorporation petition because a group of residents whose property is included in the proposed boundaries for Aspen had filed a petition earlier in the day to annex into the nearby town of Daniel.

The annexation petition, known as the Storm Haven petition, includes residents in three subdivisions along U.S. 40 in Daniels Canyon: Storm Haven, Tammy Lane and Crazy Acres.

Titcomb's letter to Sellers says that according to Utah law, the Aspen petition must be rejected because of the pending annexation petition.

Clyde said that the authority to reject a petition doesn't rest with the county clerk/auditor. It rests with the county council.

"The council's discretion was taken away from them," Clyde said.

Wasatch County Attorney Thomas Low was not available for comment Tuesday.

Clyde is confident that Sellers' petition to incorporate would have been approved by the county council because it met all of the legal requirements of HB466, which was enacted in March.

The law outlines specific requirements for land value and land size of the petition sponsors and a residential population between 100 and 1,000.

A petition can be denied if there is a pending annexation petition, but Clyde says the Storm Haven petition is deficient and should, itself, be rejected.

The Daniel Town Council has accepted the Storm Haven petition for further review and could have a decision by early January.

Clyde said litigation is possible if the Daniel Town Council ratifies and accepts the Storm Haven annexation.

Normally, attorneys file civil action at the district court level, but Clyde said he decided to go straight to the Utah Supreme Court because the court has jurisdiction over extraordinary writs and a person can seek relief from the court if his interests are threatened by a person who has failed to perform an act required by law as a duty of office.

Clyde also believes he can avoid the delays that accompany the trial system and further delays if 4th District Court Judge Derek Pullan, a former Wasatch County Attorney, had to recuse himself from proceedings.

According to the petition for writ of mandamus, the stakes involved would make it likely for a losing party in lower courts to appeal, and eventually proceedings would fall to the Utah Supreme Court.

Utah State Courts spokeswoman Nancy Volmer said the Utah Supreme Court receives fewer than 10 petitions for extraordinary writ in the nature of mandamus each year.

If the court grants an expedited hearing, Clyde said, he anticipates that the court could rule by the end of January.

---

E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com