Reader comments
Geohazard rules are tightened

Developers, city planners and zoning commissions already know which areas of the state are condemened for housing developement. The developers usually con the cities in to rezoning these hazardous areas with conditional permits and the cities indemnifying themselves of any responsibility to home buyers. The term indemenify means the city cant be sued because they allowed developement of hazardous areas for home and business use. This indemnification has been placed in all new home contracts with financial intsitutions and mortgage lenders, this is why the cities always say 'buyer beware' about propery that is very unsafe and to read the contracts. All cities should follow this ordinance of Draper and shut down developemnet in these hazardous areas that the state has already declared unsafe. The west side of the valley would have been developed decades ago if it wasn't for the states zoning of these lands and properties as unsafe for developement with homes. Now the speculative developers and cities with no scrouples are being theatened with the loss to develope unsafe property. Many kudos to Draper city for standing up to bad property developement. Requiring developers to comply with the geohazards should have been done at the onset.

What. You mean there are hillside and bench areas left to develop in Draper?

Bob G got it right. Utah has an outstanding Geological Survey that has already mapped hazardous areas. That information is freely available to anyone who wants to find it. The state already regulates geological and engineering professionals. Kudos to Draper for wanting to prevent future problems, but boo's to them for trying to establish a redundant fiefdom.