Farmington turns down rezoning request

FARMINGTON — Farmington City Council members unanimously denied a rezoning request from North Park developers Thursday, saying the area couldn't handle the increased traffic.

North Park Development, owned by Brady Hall, wants to put 60 residential units in the form of 30 twin homes on 10 acres owned by the Haugen family.

But Farmington resident Tom Owens said Thursday that he considers the request to rezone and build the 30 twin homes a "blatant attack on the heritage of Farmington." Angry residents told the Farmington City Council at a public hearing Thursday that they don't want land near a historic mill rezoned for high-density housing.

The proposed development doesn't fit with the character of the area, Owens said.

"My concern is that these are the last large undeveloped pieces of land in Farmington," resident Don Bradshaw said. "If you start to allow this sort of thing, you are going to have it all the way through."

Like much of Farmington, the area around 600 North is primarily residential, with a mix of high and low density developments. Owens owns the old Rock Grist Mill, located just kitty-corner from the Haugen property, which was proposed for the rezone.

The Rock Mill is in a secluded area, surrounded by trees. It was built about 1857 by a nephew of Willard Richards, an early apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Owens, who said his "life mission" is to protect the mill, wants five or six homes to be built on the Haugen property — all without future development rights so the land can be guaranteed as open space in perpetuity. He gathered about 100 signatures on a petition, which was presented to the council, to stop the rezone request.

Currently, the Haugen property is used as a junk yard and for a family automotive shop. Farmington City Councilman Larry Haugen owns about an acre of the land. His father owns the remaining property. City officials have been pushing for years to get the family to sell or clean up the property because it is upstream from a city well.

"That's been a source of concern for a long time," said Cory Ritz, who sits on the Farmington Planning Commission. "It's a potential threat to the city's water supply."

About three weeks ago, the planning commission approved the developer's request to have the land rezoned for higher density residential. Ritz said that, from his perspective, there was no legal reason to deny the rezone request.