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Show City agrees to contribute to Alta City defense fund The Newspaper Thursday, April 16, 1981 Page AS The City Council last week voted to contribute $2,000 to a legal defense fund that will be used to help the town of Alta defray costs in a lawsuit against Sweetwater Properties. Proper-ties. City Manager Arlene Loble urged the council to contribute to the fund, noting that the outcome of the suit could have an effect on Park City in the future. In June 1979, Sweetwater announced plans to build 226 condominium units on 25 acres of property on the western boundary of the Alta City limits. A month later, Alta drafted a policy declaration that indicated its desire to annex the property. It apparently was Alta's belief that a development that would require municipal services should be annexed into the city so that the growth would be in ac cordance with its ordinances and master plan. A public hearing was held, and in September, the policy declaration was adopted. That same day, Sweetwator received a conditional use permit for the first phase of the project from Salt Lake County, but because the policy ordinace had been adopted, development was temporarily banned. Sweetwater then filed a complaint in district court, arguing that the policy declaration imposed urban development restrictions on its property, which constituted con-stituted "a taking of property proper-ty without just compensation or due process of law." The court ruled in favor of Sweetwater, and ordered Alta not to interfere with the development of the property. City proclaims April Theatre Month "WHEREAS The City Council of Park City recognizes the contribution the performing arts makes to the cultural enhancement of our community, and, WHEREAS the Park City Players and the Intermoun-tain Intermoun-tain Actor's Ensemble have added greatly to the enjoyment en-joyment and growth of theatre in our community. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That April is declared "American Theatre Month" in Park City. That Park City residents are urged to support our local theatre groups and attend Park City Players' "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" opening April 9, 1981, and, Intermountain Actor's Ensemble's "Streetcar Named Desire," opening April 23, 1981. Park City Municipal Corporation John C. Green, Mayor of Park City Mt. Metro awarded grant It was a long wait, but it paid off. The city received word last Friday that it has been awarded a $540,300 federal grant applied for nearly two years ago for improvements im-provements to the Mt. Metro bus system. Transportation director Jan Sylvester noted that the grant was given on a match-ing-funds basis, with the federal government paying 80 percent and the city kicking in the remaining 20 percent. The grant will fund capital improvements only, she said, and not the operation of the system. The money will be used to purchase six buses, inventory inven-tory parts and paint, bus stop benches, bus signs, four bus stop shelters, and a communication com-munication system. The top priority is new buses, Sylvester said. The system currently operates 13 buses, and an additional half-dozen coaches are "something we really need." Sylvester said the new buses will be midsized, mid-sized, with a capacity of about 30 people. She said she hopes to begin bus shopping in May, and have them on the road as early as the beginning of the ski season, or by early 1982. Second on the list of priorities is bus stop signs, Sylvester said, and hopefully they will be purchased and erected this summer. She said she also hopes to purchase pur-chase benches for many of the stops. By the summer of 1982, four bus shelters should be designed and approved ap-proved by the Planning Commission. Sylvester said their location has not yet been determined. The director said the grant also will allow for the purchase pur-chase of a bus-to-base ami bus-to-bus communication system. That will mean that equipment failures or other problems can be reported immediately, and solved more quickly, Sylvester said. "The grant is very exciting," ex-citing," Sylvester said. "It allows us to do some things that are really needed. And we got all the money the state of Utah could funnel to us. We were the only rural bus system that got funding." Annual Spring SALE on Custom Picture Framing OFF on our wide selection of wood and metal frames, mats and glass April 16 thru 29 I FAMILY JEWELS Picture Framing Annex Main Si. -649-6161 Open Daily 1 0 to 6 1 filed an appeal Utah Supreme Alta then with the Court. In January of this year, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision. In its written decision, the justices ruled that legislature passed in 1979 gave municipalities the right to extend their boundaries to include areas where urban governmental services are needed, without the consent of the property owners. The justices pointed out, however, that the policy declaration is not an annexation. an-nexation. Sweetwater still may present written, legal reasons why it should not be annexed. If the issue is not resolved and the property-annexed property-annexed within 12 months, the property owner has the right to proceed with development, regardless of the existence of the policy declaration. In asking the City Council 'n contribute to Alta's defense defen-se fund, Loble commented, "This can be considered a critical decision in terms of cities' ability to annex and zone property as they deem consistent with their master plan. I consider this to be a significant suit from Park City's standpoint, and recommend that the city contribute $2,000 toward Alta's legal fees." The request for contributions con-tributions to a defense fund came from the Utah League of Cities and Towns. Executive Director Herschel Hester noted. "The Alta versus ver-sus Sweetwater case is truly a landmark case, inasmuch as the decisions reached and opinion prepared based on those decisions have a great deal to say about the future of cities' and towns' ability to control the development of growth around them and their ability to expand their boundaries boun-daries to bring urban development requiring municipal services within existing cities and towns through annexation rather than it being permitted to remain in the unincorporated unincor-porated areas of the county." coun-ty." Hester noted that although the case is now more than two years old, it is not over. Salt Lake County now has joined with Sweetwater in a petition for rehearing before the Supreme Court. To date, he said, Alta has incurred over $25,000 in legal fees, of which they have been able to pay a little more than $8,000. At the council meeting. Bob Wells said he objected to Alta initiating a lawsuit, then asking for help in funding fund-ing it. "I think they ought to pay their own bills," he commented. Despite his objections, ob-jections, he voted in favor of the contribution, with Councilman Coun-cilman Tom Shellenberger castin the only negative vote. HOW THE CITY COUNCIL VOTED... Thursday, April 9 MOTIONS V!ifef Mfel l;irr lewis M.irlMie MiellrnliTi;ii Wells 1 , J j Approve minutes of March ves absent abSPIlt VPS VPS 2h meeting "jvm 1 j Approve verified bills and VPS abSPIlt abspllt VPS VPS prior checks written ' ! Appoint KalherineJanka to VPS abSPIlt absCllt VS VPS the Board of Adjustments Adopt business license ordinance ordin-ance for Contractors and vps abspnt absent yes yes Sub-contractors Repeal ordinance requiring members of boards to be ,-.K.w 1 4 ,, residents and electors of OS absent abSPIlt VPS Park City Pass resolution proclaiming . April as American Theatre PS absent absent VPS VPS Month Approve $2,000 contribution to I tah League Legal I)e- VPS absent absent ves yes fense Fund & is- - t - ' A y 1 ZA ?X; -m.f - - - C if yH . . si ' i- . : i , 1 ' , 1 ' 1 - - X L Opportunity- fY J ; lx r i til s it w it l a t i Spae reserv l2-.00noon ations c.u- -'.JnI I ! - ,(.;. soonrto, '' the to do forms reade, "he s, 9hts v,-oaesia,,J. Ilt . wi WlJt I . COI3i , . sn . a th'oWa' rP'e wseB "-ors and . . Le' us ,, Fark C"V are e sred wilh 's fcepf a Dead K c"y Lod;:,:ress waw 1981 'or sPace rP! " JS(Jm( and ings 1 1 "eptarUes,ar 30 7. 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