Bluffdale ponders letting acreage go

BLUFFDALE — Some residents painted the developers of Rosecrest as a cash-stuffed Goliath during a public hearing Tuesday night, while others said the city is a stubborn municipality holding property hostage.

In the end, the Bluffdale City Council was left with the daunting task of making a decision that would shrink its city by a third, or finding itself on the front line of a potentially lengthy legal battle.

The comments came during the first public hearing on a petition by a group of landowners and developers who want to disconnect a 4,000-acre chunk of land from Bluffdale and instead join nearby Herriman.

Rosecrest Homes, whose parent company is Sorenson Development, and about 50 landowners have petitioned to have their property removed from the Bluffdale city limits. Rosecrest officials cited a frustrating 10-year battle to develop their land, only to be blocked by the city.

Rosecrest's attorney Hollis Hunt said it took the city 19 months to ultimately reject the company's application to amend the city's general plan and rezone to develop the land. In all, Rosecrest officials had attended 23 meetings with city staff, 24 with the Planning Commission and 25 more meetings with the City Council in a three-year period, Hunt said.

The company had also shelled out $950,000 in administrative, engineering and legal costs.

Addressing the council and resident gathered at Bluffdale Elementary, another Rosecrest attorney, Bruce Baird, said the company has "no trust left" for dealing with the city any longer.

"This is not a negotiating ploy," Baird told city officials, adding Sorenson Development would take the case to the Utah Supreme Court if it had to. A study done by Rosecrest showed that because there is no development at all on the land, the tax impact to the city would mean losing only half a percent, $1.39 million, of the city's overall tax base of $325 million.

To sweeten the deal, Rosecrest officials offered the city a $100,000 cash donation to allow the disconnect.

However, several residents urged the council to not give in to Rosecrest's demands.

"They seem to want to have Bluffdale give them what they want or they're just going to take their ball and go home," said resident Nancy Lord.

Chris Broadbank, who lives near the property, said Rosecrest seems more concerned about quantity and not the quality of the community.