Draper Council OKs townhome complex

The Draper City Council approved a South Mountain townhome complex Tuesday night in a 4-1 vote, a move that has drawn ire from residents who say they were promised the 11-acre lot for public use.

The development at the intersection of Traverse Ridge Road and Manilla Road will put nearly 70 townhomes on the lot that was donated by a local developer to the Evangelical Free Church nearly four years ago. The church now wants to sell the land to Platinum Properties for multifamily housing, a use allowed by the city's master plan.

Matt Haines, who lives above the contested lot, said he was promised by developers and by the city that the land would one day hold a church and a school.

"We were all just basically misled and manipulated," Haines said.

To approve the development, City Council members had to decide there was good cause for the townhomes and that the development would not cause "material" harm to neighboring residents.

A certified home appraiser hired by Haines sent a letter to the City Council on Friday, saying the new development would decrease the value of homes already on the mountain by increasing traffic, offering less-expensive housing and by blocking views of the valley. Those views, Haines said, cost some homeowners an additional $24,000.

"The mayor has the facts. The facts are that we will lose money. We will be materially harmed. They are not listening to the facts," Haines said.

Councilman LaMont Smith, the only council member to vote against the development, said he did not agree that existing homes would lose their value, but said residents had genuine reason to believe the lot would remain as public space. Smith also said the city did not need more multifamily housing on South Mountain.

"The area is saturated with developments on the east and the west. The developers need to do that to make their money, but that's not our problem," he said.

Councilman Bill Colbert, however, said the proposed development is legally allowable under city zoning and is an improvement over a similar proposed development for the lot that the council rejected last year.

Specifically, Colbert said the new development has lowered the density from 11 to seven units per acre, has a row of single-family homes acting as a "buffer zone" to the street and has a better aesthetic quality.

Councilman Peter Larkin added that the city was constrained by previous zoning decisions and that the proposed development was a good compromise for residents.

"Eventually something's going to happen to this property. We could end up with something significantly worse than this," Larkin said.

Resident Deena Pyle said she was disappointed in the City Council for approving the development despite strong opposition from neighbors. The decision, she said, was another example of the City Council choosing developers over the needs of citizens.

"It's not just about losing our view. We're not that petty. Losing our view has come to symbolize the loss of integrity and ethical responsibility in the development of our community," Pyle said.

---

E-mail: estewart@desnews.com