Maple Mountain rezone is put on hold

PROVO — Lawyers agreed Wednesday to extend a temporary restraining order barring Mapleton city officials from rezoning property on Maple Mountain while they determine the land's fate in multiple court dates over the next two months.

In a 4th District Court hearing, attorneys representing Mapleton, Friends of Maple Mountain Inc. and Dr. Wendell Gibby also agreed to consolidate legal claims regarding the hotly contested acreage. This action will combine a preliminary injunction and a final trial, Mayor Jim Brady said, which makes economic sense.

"It makes good, efficient use of everybody's time," he said.

The legal battles revolve around the City Council's decision to reconsider the zoning status of Gibby's property near 2000 Maple St. The rezone would change the 120-acre plot from critical-environment to a specially created residential-like zone. Local residents objected to the council's actions and gathered more than 1,000 signatures on a petition calling for a referendum, said Jim Lundberg, spokesman for Friends of Maple Mountain Inc.

City officials said a referendum isn't applicable in this case, Lundberg said, and Friends of Maple Mountain were forced to obtain a temporary restraining order to prevent the City Council from taking action on the rezone while the courts evaluate the validity of a referendum.

"We're entitled to have the issue heard and determined by vote rather than going forward with the consideration," Lundberg said. "The voice of the people should be heard."

Dayle Jeffs, legal counsel for Gibby, doesn't agree the people's voice matters in this situation. In a preliminary memorandum filed Tuesday, Jeffs wrote that the rezone is an administrative action, not a legislative action, and is not subject to referendum.

Residents would leave the issue alone if Gibby would develop his land within current standards, Lundberg said, but City Council action regarding the Maple Mountain property is a significant departure from Mapleton's vision statement.

"(Gibby) has used lawsuits to get the rezone," he said. "That's where we have a problem."