The Utah Supreme Court has said this is legal, even if it does make something of a mockery of a representative form of government.

Placing the referendum on the ballot is a slap at council members who already made an educated, informed decision after due deliberation and study.

This isn't to say city councils are infallible, just that making zoning decisions is what they do.

Now, one particular zoning decision will be up to voters with less experience concerning such things, many of whom will have to decide in the brief time they are in the voting booth.

It's a classic recipe for emotion taking over from practical reasoning.

If the old gravel pit is going to follow the Sandy trend and be developed into something, I'd defer to the people who have studied it out and have a long-range plan in mind rather than people who are trying to save a community that, in case no one told them, is already as commercial as they come. Trust me, Sandy stopped being little old Sandy a long time ago.

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Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.