Mapleton warned against voting on boundary change

MAPLETON, Utah County — An affirmative vote to enlarge the city's southern boundary to take in former Ensign-Bickford land could trigger a referendum election, city leaders were warned Tuesday.

The controversial land, nearly 500 acres within the boundaries of Spanish Fork, was the home of explosive manufacturing for more than 60 years under various owners. During that time, experts say explosive residue seeped into the ground and water table, polluting residential wells in Mapleton and leading to numerous lawsuits.

Several residents were sickened and some died, said David Nemelka, a Mapleton resident whose well was one of those found with explosive pollutants in it. Nemelka blames his wife's illness on water from the well.

Unless the Mapleton City Council puts the boundary change to a vote of the people, a referendum will take place, he promised.

Councilman Ben Christensen said the council represents the people and would vote first. If residents then want to file a referendum petition to hold an election, they would be free to do that.

Ensign-Bickford Corp., the last company to own the manufacturing plant, closed the facility a few years ago and has been cleaning up the land for development. The cleanup is nearly complete, and company officials now want to develop industrial, commercial and residential lots there.

Although the Mapleton City Council hasn't yet reached an agreement with Spanish Fork to take the land, Ensign-Bickford has moved forward with planning how the land would be used. Those plans were unveiled Tuesday during a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission.

The development could take place no matter which city ends up with the land, said Mary Street, Mapleton's economic development commissioner. However, Jack Evans of Presidio Capital, the development arm of Ensign-Bickford, has been pushing for the boundary modification to ease some development issues, particularly how the sewer lines would be built.

Preliminary plans show the sewer system would allow expansion into Mapleton and that Ensign-Bickford would pick up the costs for its own development. In addition to the Ensign-Bickford development, Evans has plans for another residential development in Mapleton, Mapleton Village.

"The existing (sewer) lines have capacity problems," said Greg Magleby with LEI Engineering. "This is better for Mapleton."

The Spanish Fork sewer treatment plant serves both cities.

The Ensign-Bickford development would serve an equivalent of 1,134 residents, though it would provide a variety of uses, Magleby said.

Land along U.S. 6 is designated for industrial use, while property along state Route 89, which intersects U.S. 6, is slated for commercial and retail development.

Residential uses would go to the north and east into the foothills and bench areas. Parks and church sites also are identified.

About 60 percent of the land would not be developed and instead would be covered with 2 feet of top soil and revegetated, Magleby said.

e-mail: rodger@desnews.com