Dead-end street issue exposes Elk Ridge power struggle

ELK RIDGE, Utah County — A controversial special meeting was called last week after a developer accused the Elk Ridge City Council of not following its own ordinance when it failed to put her dead-end street request on the agenda in timely fashion.

Mayor Kenneth Lutes attributes the special meeting, called when he was gone, to a power struggle.

The issue that spurred the meeting has roots in a supposed ordinance that requires an item be placed on the next agenda if submitted by the previous Thursday, City Recorder Jan Davis said. But Davis said she can't find the ordinance and neither can other city employees.

Developer Krisel Travis raised the issue because she needed clarification on how many lots could go on a dead-end street, Davis said.

Ordinances governing cul-de-sacs and stub streets, two types of dead-end streets, contradict each other, Councilman Sean Roylance said.

A city ordinance limits the number of lots to 16, but the National Fire Code has a limit of 30 lots. If a conflict in the ordinance arises, then the stricter code applies, Lutes said.

Roylance and Councilman Wesley Youd said Lutes was blocking some items by not listing them on the agenda and instead canceling the July 13 meeting for lack of items to consider. However, Lutes said Monday he scheduled the meeting over the dead-end-road issue as a discussion item at a later time.

With Lutes gone, the dead-end street question was the main target on the special meeting agenda for a council decision, but it was tabled after residents accused the panel of calling the meeting behind the mayor's back. That item is on Tuesday's agenda.

— Rodger L. Hardy