Tooele County may owe firm $6 million

Tooele County may yet owe a landowner up to $6 million because a geologically unique formation prevented the development of a gravel-mining pit.

In May 2001, Diamond B-Y Ranches — which owns more than 190 acres of land in Tooele County, including a chunk in the town of Stockton — was denied a conditional-use permit to sell the pit to Geneva Rock for $6 million.

The pit includes a formation known as the Stockton Bar, a sedimentary deposit that offers a glimpse into the history of Lake Bonneville. The University of Utah has used the land as a research site.

Diamond B-Y took the issue to Tooele County's 3rd District Court, seeking a recoupment of $6 million from the county under constitutional "takings" provisions. The court entered summary judgment, a court order ruling that no factual issues remain to be tried and a cause of action can be decided without trial.

But the Utah Court of Appeals last week issued a ruling, saying summary judgment was not appropriate. It has sent the issue back for either a new trial or "such other proceedings as may now be appropriate."

The appeals court disagreed with the county's claim that "Diamond simply made no effort to establish a record upon which the county could have approved the permit consistent with the requirements of the applicable ordinances."

Thursday's decision said a review of county commission meeting minutes shows that "incompleteness of the application or other procedural deficiencies are simply not mentioned."

In a public hearing before its 2-1 vote to deny Diamond the permit, the county commission was told that removing the bar would affect climate, wind patterns and even watershed. Others worried its removal could allow a chemical agent plume to travel farther into the Tooele Valley if an event occurred.