Judge throws out lawsuit over Summit zoning laws

A federal judge has ruled there is no evidence that Summit County used its zoning ordinances to discriminate against minorities and the disabled.

In an opinion published Friday, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ordered the suit thrown out. The suit was filed against the county by groups including the Utah NAACP chapter, Utah Coalition of La Raza, the Disabled Rights Action Committee and Anderson Development.

The groups accused Summit County officials of using zoning laws to block the development of affordable housing, which has forced many low-income workers who work in Park City to commute from Salt Lake County.

In his ruling, Kimball found that Anderson Development and others lacked standing to bring the suit because they never actually applied for development approval with the county and cannot show they suffered any discrimination or damages.

"The court finds that plaintiffs lack standing to litigate their discriminatory housing claims because they have not alleged and cannot prove that the county has utilized zoning ordinances or other challenged policies to deny and specific project," Kimball wrote.

Last February, the group had sought the court's permission to expand the suit to class-action status. Kimball denied several other pending motions before ordering the case dismissed.