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Show Btfl. Council admits mistake in okaying center By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL One after another, Bountiful's mayor, city council and city staff apologized for a "goof they made" last week. "But the damage is done, nothing no-thing can correct that," spokesperson spokesper-son Lon Buckley told the council. "We are the ones that were hurt because you (city council) rushed a decision and did not check out the facts," he said. City Manager Tom Hardy admitted admit-ted that he was right. "We screwed up and we'll have to take the heat for it. I'm just sorry that it has caused so much hardship on all of you people." It all started a week earlier when Bountiful Council approved a 16-bed 16-bed recovery center for the mentally mental-ly handicapped. The center will be designed to accommodate persons with minor mental problems and those recovering from more severe ' mental stress. Funded and built by U.S. Housing Hous-ing and Urban Development QD) under the direction of the Davis County Housing Authority, the 16 units is twice the number allowed by the Utah State Statute. "We did not research this matter thoroughly enough before the council made its decision," said City Attorney Layne B. Forbes. "Other than the number of beds allowed, everything was done within the law." The opposition group of more than 75 residents living in the area of the proposed complex argued that they were not informed of the planned HUD development "until it was too late" and that there was no public hearing before the city council made its decision. The complex is scheduled to be constructed on the north side of Center Street at 410 West. Mr. Buckley told the council that his group began studying the proposal prop-osal about two months ago when they first heard of the plan. "If you (council) had allowed us to appear at a public hearing we could have avoided much of this confusion especially regarding the number of units allowed. But there was no public hearing and before wc could act, the decision had already been made," he said. Attorney Forbes said that because be-cause of the entity involved, (HUD) could have the home placed anywhere in the city (or county) except in areas which are "restricted "res-tricted Residential-1", and this includes in-cludes much of the city. The city attorney also noted that Bountiful was "rushed into a quick decision" because approval for funding had to be completed last week or Davis County Housing Authority would lose the money. "If that happened, Bountiful would be left open to a large law suit because of the preliminary planning and funding preparations that had already taken place," the attorney noted. Mr. Hardy said a staff decision was made at that time (the prior Friday) to give Davis County Housing Authority a conditional-use conditional-use permit allowing the construction construc-tion of the 16-bed unit. "Only after the permit had been issued did we realize that the 16- bed unit is twice the size of the maximum eight-bed unit allowed by the state statute. "That's where we goofed," he said. Residents of the area complained com-plained that the "city dumps all of its unwanted developments on them." "We have 170 apartment units in our area, plus several new businesses. And we don't have a city park within walking distance," said one local resident. Others complained that the proposed housing unit would add to the devaluation of homes in the area and cause safety concerns for its residents. Mayor Dean S. Stahle explained that H UD has the authority to build where it wanted (except in restricted res-tricted areas) and that no public hearing is necessary. Larry Burdett, volunteer member mem-ber of the Davis County Housing Authority board of directors, explained ex-plained that the patients residing at the center will not be violent and will not require constant lockup. "They will be under 24-hour su pervision, not because it is needed or required but because that will be the policy of the center. There is nothing for nearby residents to fear with these people," he said. At the same time, the city has attached 14 stipulations to the conditional-use permit to better control con-trol the environment and well-being well-being of the neighborhood. Those stipulations are: 1. The facility shall meet all municipal building safety and health ordinances applicable. 2. Enlargement of the detention basin in the northwest corner of the property to a storage capacity of 425 cu. (300 c.f. proposed) 3. Re-grade the parking lot along the north side and provide more finished grade elevations in the parking lot area. 4. Approval of the Davis County Housing Authority to allow the storm drainage to traverse their property. 5. Construction of a block wall along the east parking lot. 6. Payment of the required fees. 7. Posting of a cash or surety bond to guarantee landscaping, sprinkler plan and the construction of the block wall. 8. Operator of the facility shall provide assurance that the residents resi-dents of the facility will be properly supervised on a 24-hour basis by a resident supervisor. 9. This facility shall not be a substance sub-stance abuse treatment center. 10. No person who is violent shall be placed or remain in the facility. 1 1 . Placement in the facility shall be on a strictly voluntary basis and not a part of or in lieu of confinement, confine-ment, rehabilitation or treatment in a correctional facility. 12. The facility shall house not more than 15 persons excluding live-in supervision. 13. This facility shall be used as a small residential health care facility facil-ity and shall not be used as a health care treatment facility. 14. The operator of the facility shall establish a community advisory advis-ory committee through which all complaints and concerns of neighbors neigh-bors may be addressed. |
